黄花贝母 huang hua bei mu

Fritillaria albidoflora X. Z. Duan & X. J. Zheng; F. albidoflora var. jimunaica (X. Z. Duan & X. J. Zheng) X. Z. Duan & X. J. Zheng; F. albidoflora var. purpurea X. Z. Duan & X. J. Zheng; F. albidoflora var. rhodanthera X. Z. Duan & X. J. Zheng; F. amoena C. Y. Yang; F. borealixingjiangensis Y. K. Yang et al.; F. heboksarensis X. Z. Duan & X. J. Zheng; F. tortifolia X. Z. Duan & X. J. Zheng var. albiflora X. Z. Duan & X. J. Zheng; F. tortifolia var. citrina X. Z. Duan & X. J. Zheng; F. tortifolia var. parviflora X. Z. Duan & X. J. Zheng; F. verticillata var. jimunaica X. Z. Duan & X. J. Zheng.

Bulb of 2 scales, ca. 2 cm in diam. Stem 15--50 cm. Leaves rather densely arranged, basal 2 opposite, others in whorls of 4--7; leaf blade narrowly lanceolate to linear, 5--9 cm × 2--10 mm, apex strongly cirrose. Inflorescence 1--5-flowered; bracts 2 or 3, apex strongly cirrose. Flowers nodding, campanulate; pedicel 1--2 cm. Tepals white or pale yellow, occasionally tinged with pale purple, oblong-elliptic, 2--5 × 1.5--2 cm; nectaries ovate, projecting at a right angle abaxially. Stamens 1--2.5 cm; filaments dilated proximally, glabrous. Style 3-lobed, lobes 2--4 mm. Capsule winged; wings 2--4 mm wide. Fl. Apr--Jun, fr. Jul. 2 n = 24*.

Hill thickets, gravelly meadows; 1300--2000 m. NW Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Russia (W Siberia)].

Martyn Rix (pers. comm.) notes that Fritillaria verticillata commonly has an inflorescence with only one flower, and that reports of several-flowered plants are the result of longstanding confusion between this species and F. thunbergii. Rix also notes that F. albidoflora may be distinct from F. verticillata differing as follows: flowers opening nearly flat (vs. campanulate), tepals 2--3 cm (vs. 3--5 cm), and nectaries orbicular (vs. ovate), ca. 6 mm above base of tepal.