Home > Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine > Fritillaria

Description

Fritillaria is the processed bulb of Fritillaria cirrhosa, a flowering plant in the Liliaceae family. A perennial temperate herb, it grows in mountain slope and sub-alpine meadows, usually on open, stony, and moist hillsides. In the West, fritillaria is most commonly regarded as an ornamental garden plant. By contrast, it is traditionally valued as an herbal remedy in Nepal and China, where it grows in the Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Xizang, and Yunnan provinces. Two related species, F. thunbergii and F. hupehensis, are also used medicinally, and in some regions, F. unibracteata, F. przewalski, and F. delavayi are used as botanical substitutes.

In traditional Chinese medicine, fritillaria is called chuan bei mu which translates as "Shell mother from Sichuan." English common...