Fritillaria imperialis

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Fritillaria imperialis
Light:Full Sun Part Shade
Moisture:Xeric Mesic
Hardiness:4
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Height:3'
Width:1'
Blooms:Mid Spring
Open Woods Forest
Native to:
Edible Rating:PFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating:PFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal Rating
Tea:Yes
Poisonous

Fritillaria imperialis (common name: crown imperial)

Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in the spring[1]. Protect from frost[2]. Stored seed should be sown as soon as possible and can take a year or more to germinate[2]. Sow the seed quite thinly to avoid the need to prick out the seedlings. Once they have germinated, give them an occasional liquid feed to ensure that they do not suffer mineral deficiency. Once they die down at the end of their second growing season, divide up the small bulbs, planting 2 - 3 to an 8cm deep pot. Grow them on for at least another year in light shade in the greenhouse before planting them out whilst dormant.

Division of offsets in August[1]. The larger bulbs can be planted out direct into their permanent positions, but it is best to pot up the smaller bulbs and grow them on in a cold frame for a year before planting them out in the autumn.

Bulb scales[3].

Cultivation: Easily grown in a moderately fertile soil[4]. Prefers a heavy soil without any disturbance, not even hoeing[1][5]. Requires a well-drained soil and a sunny position[5][4][6] or the shade of deciduous trees or shrubs[4]. Succeeds in drier soils and is drought tolerant once established[7]. Plants succeed in most fertile soils, avoiding pure chalk, heavy clay and boggy sites[8].

The dormant bulbs are very hardy and will withstand soil temperatures down to at least -10°c[9].

A very ornamental plant, there are some named varieties[8]. The flowers smell of wet fur and garlic[10].

Bulbs should be planted 10 - 12 cm deep in July[1] on their side with sharp sand beneath them to ensure that they do not rot[5][6].

Range: W. Asia - W. Himalayas, Turkey and Iran.

Habitat: Cliffs, rocky slopes and amongst scrub, 1000 - 3000 metres in Turkey[4]. On humus rich soils, usually in gullies and shaded sides of large rocks, 1800 - 2600 metres in Kashmir[11].

Edibility: Bulb - cooked[12]. A minor source of starch[13][14][15]. Some caution is advised since there are reports of toxicity.

Medicinal: The bulb is diuretic, emollient and resolvent[16]. It is also a cardiac poison[16]. It has been used as an expectorant and also to encourage increased breast milk production[17]. The fresh plant contains the toxic alkaloid 'imperialine'[16].

Pollinators: Bees

Soil: Can grow in medium and heavy soils.

Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.

Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Late Summer

Flower Type: Hermaphrodite

Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.

Known Hazards: The bulb is poisonous raw[13][12], it contains low concentrations of a toxic alkaloid[3][16].

Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Reed, David. Lilies and Related Plants. 1989.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Bulbs. Pan Books, 1989.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Grey, Charles. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate, 1938.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
  7. ↑ Chatto, Beth. The Damp Garden. Dent, 1982.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
  9. ↑ Matthews, Victoria. The New Plantsman Volume 1. Royal Horticultural Society, 1994.
  10. ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
  11. ↑ Singh, Gurcharan and Premnath Kachroo. Forest Flora of Srinagar. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 1976.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Chakravarty, Hiralal. The Plant Wealth of Iraq. 1976.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
  14. ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
  15. ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
  17. ↑ Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.


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