FRITILLARY (Fritillaria), a genus of hardy bulbous plants of the family Liliaceae, containing upwards of 5o species widely distributed in the northern hemisphere. The genus is represented in Great Britain by the fritillary or snakeshead (F. Meleagris), which occurs in moist meadows in the southern half of England, A much larger plant is the crown imperial (F. imperialis), a native of western Asia and well known in gardens. This grows to a height of about 3 ft., the lower part of the stoutish stem being furnished with leaves, while near the top is developed a crown of large pendent flowers sur mounted by a tuft of bright green leaves. The flowers are bell shaped, yellow or red, and in some of the forms double. The plant grows freely in good garden soil, preferring a deep well drained loam.
About 15 species are native to western North America, chiefly California, and mostly with handsome flowers, among which are the white fritillary (F. liliacea), the yellow fritillary (F. pudica), mission bells (F. bi flora), brown bells (F. parvi flora) and the checker-lily (F. lanceolata) .
Fritillary is also the name of several species of butterfly.