Purdy's fritillary facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Purdy's fritillary |
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| Scientific classification | |
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Fritillaria
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F. purdyi
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| Fritillaria purdyi |
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Fritillaria purdyi, also known as Purdy's fritillary, is a special and rare flowering plant. It belongs to the lily family. This beautiful plant grows only in a specific part of northwestern California. It likes to grow in a unique type of soil called serpentine soil. You can find it in the coastal and inland areas of the California Coast Ranges.
What Purdy's Fritillary Looks Like
Purdy's fritillary is a plant that grows from a bulb, like an onion. It comes back every year. Its stem stands straight up, reaching about 10 to 40 centimeters tall. That's like 4 to 16 inches.
The leaves of this plant are shaped like an oval. They can grow up to 10 centimeters long. The stem is smooth and has no hairs.
At the top of the stem, you'll find one or more flowers. They grow in a cluster called a raceme. Each flower looks like a cup or a bell. They have six white "petals" called tepals. These tepals often have brownish-purple stripes or spots. They might also have a pretty pink tint.
Where Purdy's Fritillary Lives
This plant is very special because it is endemic to northwestern California. This means it naturally grows nowhere else in the world! You can find it from the San Francisco Bay area heading north. It prefers to grow in the unique serpentine soils found in the coastal and inland California Coast Ranges.
