Fritillaria meleagris

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Fritillaria meleagris
Fritillaria meleagris (Snake's Head Fritillary)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Genus: Fritillaria
Species: F. meleagris
Binomial name
Fritillaria meleagris
L.

Fritillaria meleagris is a species of flowering plant in the family Liliaceae. Its common names include snake's head fritillary, snake's head (the original English name), chess flower, frog-cup, guinea-hen flower, leper lily (because its shape resembled the bell once carried by lepers), Lazarus bell, checkered lily or, in northern Europe, simply fritillary.

Etymology

The name Fritillaria comes from the Latin fritillus meaning dice-box, possibly referring to the chequered pattern on the flowers[1] although this derivation has been disputed.[2] The name meleagris means ‘spotted like a guineafowl’.[3] The common name "snake's head" probably refers to the somewhat snakelike appearance of the nodding flower heads on their long stems. Vita Sackville-West called it "a sinister little flower, in the mournful colour of decay."[2]

Description and habitat

The flower has a chequered pattern in shades of purple, or is sometimes pure white.[3] It flowers from March to May and grows between 15–40 cm (6–16 in) in height. The plant has a button-shaped bulb, about 2 cm in diameter, containing poisonous alkaloids. It grows in grasslands in damp soils and river meadows at altitudes up to 800 m (2,625 ft).

Distribution

F. meleagris is native to Europe but in many places it is an endangered species that is rarely found in the wild but is commonly grown in gardens. In Croatia, the flower is known as kockavica and is associated by some with the country's national symbol.[4] It is the official flower of the Swedish province of Uppland, where it grows in large quantities every spring at the meadows in Kungsängen (Kings meadow), just outside Uppsala, which gives the flower its Swedish name, kungsängslilja (Lily of Kings meadow). It is also found in Sandemar strandängar (Sandemar beach meadows), a nature reserve west of the village of Dalarö in the Stockholm Archipelago.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom there is some disagreement amongst botanists as to whether F. meleagris is a native species or a long-established garden escapee. The plant was first described in the 16th century by herbalist John Gerard who had only known of it as a garden plant and it was not recorded in the wild until 1736, which has led some to argue that it must be an escapee.[5] However, the fact that its habitat is usually confined to ancient hay meadows and it does not easily spread to adjoining land, leads others to the conclusion that it is a native species which became isolated from the European population when Britain was cut off from mainland Europe after the last glacial period.[5]

The plant was once abundant in the UK, particularly in the Thames Valley and parts of Wiltshire, and was collected in vast quantities to be sold as a cut flower in the markets of London, Oxford and Birmingham. During World War II most of the ancient meadows were ploughed up and turned over to the production of food crops, destroying much of the plant's habitat.[5] Although a popular garden plant it is now rare in the wild, although there are some notable sites where it is still found, such as the meadows at Magdalen College, Oxford and the Oxfordshire village of Ducklington,[5] which holds a "Fritillary Sunday" festival[6] It is also found in the North Meadow National Nature Reserve, Wiltshire, Clattinger Farm Nature Reserve, Wiltshire[7] and Fox Fritillary Meadow and Mickfield Meadow nature reserves in Suffolk.[8][9][10] In 2002 it was chosen as the County flower of Oxfordshire following a poll by the wild flora conservation charity Plantlife.[11]

Cultivation

Now easily available as an ornamental spring bulb for the garden, it is commonly sold as a mixture of different coloured cultivars. The pure white-flowered variety F. meleagris var. unicolor subvar. alba has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[12]

Like many plants in the lily family, F. meleagris is susceptible to the scarlet lily beetle, which can seriously damage or kill it.

  • Snake's Head Lily

  • Close up of the Snakeshead Fritillary (Taken at Magdalen College, Oxford)

  • Snakeshead Fritillary (Taken at Audubon's marsh — West France)

  • Snakes Head Fritillary Photographed in Sandemar strandängar.

Cultural significance

In Slovenia, Fritillaria meleagris is depicted in the coats of arms of the municipalities of Brezovica, Dobrovnik, Ig, Trnovska Vas, and Trzin.

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Shorter Oxford English dictionary, 6th ed. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 2007. p. 3804. ISBN 0199206872. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/atoz/fritillaria.htm
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Anon. "Gardens:Rosemoor:Fritillaria meleagris". Royal Horticultural Society website:. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 29 April 2011. 
  4. ↑ Petrovčić G. (2006-05-20). "Ugrožena kockavica, nacionalni simbol Hrvatske" [Kockavica, the national symbol of Croatia, is endangered]. Vjesnik (in Croatian). Retrieved 2011-02-08. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Mabey, Richard; Produced by Susan Marling (Broadcast 10 July 2011). "Snake's Head Fritillary". Mabey in the Wild. Just So radio production for BBC Radio4. Retrieved 29 July 2011. 
  6. ↑ Onon. "Fritillary Sunday". St Bartholomew's Church. St Bartholomew's Church. Retrieved 29 July 2011. 
  7. ↑ "Clattinger Farm Wildlife". Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 2013-08-20. 
  8. ↑ Fox Fritillary Meadow, Framsden, SSSI citation, Natural England. Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  9. ↑ Fox Fritillary Meadow, Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  10. ↑ Mickfield Meadow, SSSI citation, Natural England. Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  11. ↑ Plantlife website County Flowers page
  12. ↑ "RHS Plant Selector - Fritillaria meleagris var. unicolor subvar. alba". Retrieved 20 June 2013. 

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