Fritillaria camschatcensis

Shadow Snake's Head Fritillary ( Fritillaria camschatcensis )

The Shadow fritillary ( Fritillaria camschatcensis ) is a plant of the genus Fritillaria in the lily family ( Liliaceae ).

Description

Shadow Chess flowers are perennial herbaceous plants that are between 20 and 60 inches high. The bulbs of these geophytes consist of 6 to 15 large and 30 and 190 starchy bulb scales.

The leaves are proximal in 1-3 whorls of 5-9 individual leaves. In addition there are alternate arranged distal leaves. All leaves are narrowly to broadly lanceolate and 4-10 inches long. However, they are shorter than the inflorescence usually. Distal and proximal leaves are in somewhat the same size.

The hermaphrodite flowers are nodding and smell unpleasant. They bloom from May to July. The six non- adult, elongated to ovate bracts are dark green - brown or brown - purple and often yellowish mottled or streaked. They are long -elliptic or obovate -elliptic and 2-3 inches long. The Tepale are not bent over at the top. The nectaries are very unusual for chess flowers. They are linear, as long as the Tepale and of the same color. The ovary is upper constant, the pen is clearly divided on a 2/3 of its length.

The three compartments fruit capsules are cylindrical - ovate and along opening.

The chromosome number is 2n = 24, 36

Dissemination

Shadow Chess flowers thrive in very humid environments of tidal environments to swamps in the mountains at altitudes between 0 and 1000 meters above sea level.

The distribution area extends in western North America from Alaska in the north to the northern Oregon. In Asia, the species is distributed in a relatively large area, which extends over Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. A north -south orientation of the range is clearly visible here as well. On islands, the species is more common than on the mainland.

Use

Heinrich von Kittlitz reported after his trips to Kamchatka, that give a tasty and apparently very nutritious vegetables onion flakes style. He writes that the onions are stronger and richer than the flour debile in the region are also popular lilium. A porridge made ​​of the Lily or Fritillaria bulbs under the name Овсянка Owsjanka known (incorrectly Ofsjanka in Kittlitz ).

Also almost all the Indian tribes of the North American distribution area (especially on the Pacific coast of British Columbia and Southeast Alaska ) used the bulbs as food. In most cases, the bulbs were dug up, dried, and the food then added. Popular purees were from the onions. But they were also baked in the hot ashes.

The species was also taken early in culture. Makino Tomitaro mentioned in 1932, a fragrant variety with a pleasant smell, the whole lacked the nasty smell of wild plants. Also a yellow variant is located in culture.