Fritillaria Kurdica

Fritillaria kurdica is a compact mountain fritillary from eastern Turkey, the Caucasus and north-western Iran. Short stems rise through glaucous leaves and carry nodding bells in greenish yellow to olive, usually patterned with purple-brown chequering. The subtle flowers mirror the stony limestone screes and open slopes of its native range, rewarding close inspection in a trough or alpine house. Formerly treated as a subspecies of Fritillaria crassifolia, it is now accepted as a species and performs best with cold winters, bright spring growth and dry summer dormancy.