Fritillaria assyriaca is a bulbous herbaceous perennial plant occurring in a region stretching from Turkey to Iran.

The lowest 3-9×0.3-1.9 cm, sometimes opposite and ovate-lanceolate, the remainder shorter, alternate, usually canaliculated (channeled), especially when young, linear, and glaucous.

With approximately 127 pg (130 Gb (Giga base pairs)), it was for a long time the largest known genome, exceeding the largest vertebrate animal genome known to date, that of the marbled lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus), in size.

[7] The specimen that Baker named in 1874[1] was collected by Haussknecht in 1867, from a locale thought to be in south eastern Turkey.

[3] One of the more widespread species in the genus, F. assyriaca is found from central Turkey in the Ankara region, east to Agri in the far eastern part of Turkey, and south towards Shiraz, Iran, and often occupies disturbed habitats.