Gentner’s fritillary (Fritillaria gentneri) is a rare member of the lily family that is listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of Oregon. It’s grows only in southwestern Oregon and northern California. Most populations are small, containing fewer than 100 individuals, and occur in open oak woodland and chaparral shrub communities along the lower slopes of the Rogue Valley basin.

For ten years, IAE has collected data to provide information on the status, dynamics, and trends of one of the largest Gentner’s fritillary populations, Pickett Creek, in southwestern Oregon to the Bureau of Land Management. Over the course of the study, we have observed fluctuations in population size of Gentner’s fritillary, with a general decrease in the number of flowering individuals and increase of small, vegetative plants. 

Recently, we were able to correlate population trends with climatic data.  Our climate models suggest that temperature and precipitation can have strong effects on the number of individual Gentner’s fritillary plants and their and life stages at this population.  We found that dry fall weather followed by warm winter temperatures is associated with increased numbers of vegetative Gentner’s fritillary, whereas a dry fall followed by a wet spring was associated with an increase in the number of flowering plants.  Understanding the climatic factors related to this species could enable us to understand how Gentner’s fritillary may respond to future climate changes. 

Click here for our online report.

If you have any questions about this project, please contact Erin Gray at erin@appliedeco.org or 541-753-3099 ext. 403.