''Fritillaria assyriaca'' is a

bulb In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

ous

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial plant occurring in a region stretching from Turkey to Iran. It is a species in the genus '' Fritillaria'', in the lily family Liliaceae. It is placed in the

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

''Fritillaria''.

Description

''Fritillaria assyriaca'' is one of the more variable ''Fritillaria'' species. Flowers are 1–2, occasionally 5, narrow and campanulate tubular, perianth segments variable usually greenish or dusky reddish or purplish brown with green fascia, occasionally striped, yellowish inside. and sometimes reflexed (recurved) towards the tip. The outer segments measure 1525×4–5 mm and are narrowly oblong. The inner segments measuring 5–10 mm in width are usually obtuse (blunted at tip). The nectaries measure 2–4×1 mm and are linear-lanceolate and are about 1 mm above the base of the segment. The style is stout, and may be 5–10 mm long but usually 7–8 mm and 1.5–2 mm in diameter. It is usually undivided or slightly lobed at its apex. The stamens consist of filaments which are 5–9 mm in length and are swollen and papillose with anthers that are 4–6 mm long. The capsule is about 26 mm long, cylindrical, and not winged. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are usually 4–6, but may be up to 12. The lowest 3-9×0.3-1.9 cm, sometimes opposite and ovate-lanceolate, the remainder shorter, alternate, usually

canaliculated This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

(channeled), especially when young, linear, and

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), g ...

. Bulbs up to 3 cm in diameter, with

stolons In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

or bulbils frequently present. The

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

varies between 4–20 cm in height but may reach 35 cm when bearing fruit, and may frequently have

papillae Papilla (Latin, 'nipple') or papillae may refer to: In animals * Papilla (fish anatomy), in the mouth of fish * Basilar papilla, a sensory organ of lizards, amphibians and fish * Dental papilla, in a developing tooth * Dermal papillae, part of ...

present at ground level. ''Fritillaria assyriaca'', a tetraploid, has a very large genome. With approximately 127 pg (130 Gb (Giga

base pair A base pair (bp) is a fundamental unit of double-stranded nucleic acids consisting of two nucleobases bound to each other by hydrogen bonds. They form the building blocks of the DNA double helix and contribute to the folded structure of both DNA ...

s)), it was for a long time the largest known genome, exceeding the largest vertebrate animal genome known to date, that of the marbled lungfish (''Protopterus aethiopicus''), in size.

Taxonomy

The specimen that

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

named in 1874 was collected by

Haussknecht Heinrich Carl Haussknecht (30 November 1838 – 7 July 1903) was a German pharmacist and botanical collector who was a native of Bennungen, Sachsen-Anhalt. Trained as a pharmacist, Haussknecht is remembered for collecting and describing numerous ...

in 1867, from a locale thought to be in south eastern Turkey. It had been confused with another species, now known as '' F. uva-vulpis'' Rix. Previously it was referred to as ''F. assyriaca''

hort. Hort., in the taxonomy of plants, is an abbreviation used to indicate a name that saw significant use in the horticultural literature (usually of the 19th century and earlier), but was never properly published. Origins and usage "Hort.," short fo ...

till Rix proposed ''F. uva-vulpis'' in 1974 to avoid confusion. However many plants offered for commercial sale as ''F. assyriaca'' today are in fact ''F. uvs-vulpis.''

Distribution and habitat

One of the more widespread species in the genus, ''F. assyriaca'' is found from central Turkey in the Ankara region, east to

Agri Agri may refer to: Places * Ağrı Province, eastern Turkey ** Ağrı, the capital city of the province * Ağrı, the Turkish name for Mount Ararat in Turkey * Ağrı Subregion, Turkey, a statistical subregion * Ağrı (electoral district), an e ...

in the far eastern part of Turkey, and south towards Shiraz, Iran, and often occupies disturbed habitats.

Ecology

Flowering occurs from March to May.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

* {{Authority control assyriaca Flora of Turkey Flora of Iran