Fritillaria recurva, the Scarlet Fritillary, is a herb

Herb

Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...

 in the Liliaceae

Liliaceae

The Liliaceae, or the lily family, is a family of monocotyledons in the order Liliales. Plants in this family have linear leaves, mostly with parallel veins but with several having net venation , and flower arranged in threes. Several have bulbs, while others have rhizomes...

 family.

Distribution

Fritillaria recurva is native

Native plant

Native plant is a term to describe plants endemic or naturalized to a given area in geologic time.This includes plants that have developed, occur naturally, or existed for many years in an area...

 to southwest Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 from Douglas County

Douglas County, Oregon

-National protected areas:* Crater Lake National Park * Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest * Siuslaw National Forest * Umpqua National Forest * Willamette National Forest -Adjacent counties:* Lane County, Oregon -...

 south into California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 where it grows in the Klamath Mountains

Klamath Mountains

The Klamath Mountains, which include the Siskiyou, Marble, Scott, Trinity, Trinity Alps, Salmon, and northern Yolla-Bolly Mountains, are a rugged lightly populated mountain range in northwest California and southwest Oregon in the United States...

, Northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range

Cascade Range

The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...

, and Sierra Nevada. It grows in dry, open woodlands and chaparral

Chaparral

Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...

 from 300 to 2200 meters, and it blooms in spring from February to July.

Description

The Fritillaria recurva leaves are arranged in whorls and are linear to narrowly lanceolate. In southwest Oregon it is similar to the rare Fritillaria gentneri

Fritillaria gentneri

Fritillaria gentneri, or Gentner's fritillary, is a rare member of Lily family , that is endemic to southwest Oregon and adjacent Siskiyou County, California. Its habitat is dry, open woodlands and chaparral from 1000-5000 feet, where it blooms from March through July. However, most populations...

. The latter can be distinguished from F. recurva by its branching style

Gynoecium

Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...

 and longer nectary glands. Additionally, it blooms about two weeks after Scarlet Fritillary and has a different reddish color.

Throughout its range it is distinguishable from other Fritillaria

Fritillary

Fritillaria is a genus of about 100 species of bulbous plants in the family Liliaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name is derived from the Latin term for a dice-box , and probably refers to the checkered pattern, frequently of chocolate-brown and greenish yellow,...

species by its scarlet red color, checkered with yellow on the inside, and recurved tepal

Tepal

Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...

s.