FRITILLARIA IMPERIALIS

Flowers, the colorful harbinger of spring... Remover of all traces which winter has left behind... Joy spreader...

There are lots of kinds of flowers all around the world. Magnolias, roses, azaleas, snapdragons, cloves and tulips.. Lots of different forms, a lot of flowers in different colors... And I'd like to show you one of them.

Fritillaria imperialis

Family: Liliaceae
Genus: Fritillaria
Species: imperialis

Fritillaria imperialis is from the Liliaceae family. It looks like an upside down tulip and like a bulb. They can be bright yellow, red and orange. Some of them can be poisonous. Their bloom periods are Mid Spring-Late Spring/Early Summer. Their leaves can freeze in very low temperatures, but they can return to their previous state in a suitable environment.

 They grow in cold climates from Anatolia across the plateau of Iran to Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Himalayan foothills. In Turkey you can can see them in Hakkari and Adıyaman. But they naturally grow only in Hakkari.

In Turkey they call them as "Crying bride", because there is a legend and it says that Fritillaria imperialis grew with Mary's tears when Jesus was crucified; as "Crown Imperial", because the head gardener of the royal gardens of Vienna Carolus Clusius, brought these flowers from Istanbul and declared them as the king of the gardens because of their crown-like shapes. There are lots of more stories and legends about these flowers..

Fritillaria imperialis or Crying Bride or Upside Down Tulip or Crown imperial... These flowers are a wonder of nature and they are unique. They look beautiful and I bet they smell amazing. Unfortunately they are facing the danger of extinction, they are under protection so I hope they won't have a place in the list of extinct plants. Protect the environment!