Zhe Bei Mu

Fritillaria thunbergii, the Zhejiang fritillary, is a bulbous perennial herb of the Liliaceae family growing 50 to 80 cm tall from a flattened scaly bulb 2 to 5 cm across composed of two to three thick fleshy white scales that readily separate. Stems are erect, slender, simple, and glabrous. Leaves are linear to linear-lanceolate, 7 to 15 cm long; the lowermost are opposite or in whorls of three, while the upper leaves are usually in whorls of three to four with the uppermost tendril-tipped and coiling at the apex. Two to six pendulous broadly bell-shaped flowers are borne in the upper leaf axils; the six pale yellow-green tepals, about 2.5 to 3.5 cm long, are faintly tessellated with darker veins. The fruit is a six-winged erect capsule. Cultivated principally in Zhejiang.