adobe lily

Fritillaria pluriflora Torr. ex Benth.

Adobe lily brings pink flowers to California’s foothills early in the year. Its name pluriflora means many-flowered, a reference to the several blossoms a plant can produce. California’s wildlife department features it among the state’s rare plants and documents it in grasslands, woodland and chaparral. California Department of Fish and Wildlife: Photos of the Month, March 2020

Botanical name

Kew accepts Fritillaria pluriflora Torr. ex Benth., matching the supplied name. Kew Plants of the World Online: Fritillaria pluriflora

Recognizing the plant

The flowering stem stands about 15–45 centimetres high. Three to ten broad leaves cluster toward the ground, their blades elliptic to oblong, some broadest above the middle. Nodding flowers have pinkish-purple tepals, each about 2–3.5 centimetres long, which do not curl backward. Narrow lavender nectaries extend along much of each tepal. The style remains unbranched, and the resulting capsules have blunt angles. Flora of North America, volume 26, pages 165 and 170: Fritillaria pluriflora

Bloom window

California, United States

California’s wildlife department gives its flowering season as February through April, spanning late winter and early spring. California Department of Fish and Wildlife: Photos of the Month, March 2020

Native range

Native to northern California, this bulb-forming perennial is associated particularly with adobe soils. Flora of North America places it in interior foothills from near sea level to about 500 metres. Kew Plants of the World Online: Fritillaria pluriflora Flora of North America, volume 26, pages 165 and 170: Fritillaria pluriflora

Botanical sources

Reviewed 2026-10-11. Seasonal development varies with location and growing conditions.