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Taxon  Report  
Fritillaria pudica  (Pursh) Spreng.
Gold bell,   Yellow fritillary
Fritillaria pudica is a perennial herb that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in western North America.
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
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Bloom Period
Genus: Fritillaria
Family: Liliaceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Monocot
Jepson eFlora section: monocot

Communities: Sagebrush Scrub, Yellow Pine Forest
Name Status:
Accepted by JEF + PLANTS

Alternate Names:
PLANTSLilium pudicum
PLANTSOchrocodon pudicus
Information about  Fritillaria pudica from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
This plant is available commercially.
Jepson eFlora

USDA PLANTS Profile (FRPU2)

Photos on Calflora

Photos on CalPhotos

Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net

[Wikipedia] Range, Description: Fritillaria pudica, the yellow fritillary, is a small perennial plant[2] found in the sagebrush country in the western United States (Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, very northern California, Nevada, northwestern Colorado, North Dakota and Utah) and Canada (Alberta and British Columbia).[3][4] It is a member of the lily family Liliaceae. Another common (but somewhat ambiguous) name is "yellow bells", since it has a bell-shaped yellow flower. It may be found in dryish, loose soil; it is amongst the first plants to flower after the snow melts, but the flower does not last very long; as the petals age, they turn a brick-red colour and begin to curl outward.[5][6][7][8][9] The flowers grow singly or in pairs on the stems, and the floral parts grow in multiples of threes.[10] The species produces a small corm, which forms corms earning the genus the nickname 'riceroot'.[10] During his historic journey, Meriwether Lewis collected a specimen while passing through Idaho in 1806.[11] The corm can be dug up and eaten fresh or cooked; it served Native Americans as a good source of food in times past,[12] and is still eaten occasionally. Today these plants are not common, so digging and eating the corms is not encouraged. The plant is called [?s?kni] in Sahaptin. (contributed by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2024. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 04/26/2024).