ABSTRACT
Fritillaria L. (type species F. meleagris L.) is a genus of the family Liliaceae, comprising 100-130 species distributed in the Northern Hemisphere (Tamura 1998; Rønsted et al. 2005; Mabberley 2008), with a large representation in the Mediterranean region (Zaharof 1986; Teksen and Aytac 2011) and California (Rønsted et al. 2005). These species are bulbiferous, mostly spring-fl owering perennials, with an erect fl owering stem usually producing a single fl ower, but occasionally, a multi-fl owered raceme. Although Fritillaria is a relatively large genus, and most of its species are of conservation concern, little is known about the reproductive biology of these plants. For example, it would appear that, to date, the pollination biology of only two species, namely, F. imperialis L. and F. meleagris, has been studied extensively, and details of the breeding system are known only for a further small number of taxa.
