Fritillaria meleagris L.
Chequered Lily
Snake's-head fritillary is a bulbous perennial in the lily family and one of the most beautiful of Britain's spring flowers. From a slender stem 20–30cm tall, narrow grey-green leaves give way in April and May to nodding, bell-shaped blooms, most famously chequered in chequerboard patterns of dusky purple and pink, though pure white forms also occur.
About
Snake's-head fritillary is a bulbous perennial in the lily family and one of the most beautiful of Britain's spring flowers. From a slender stem 20–30cm tall, narrow grey-green leaves give way in April and May to nodding, bell-shaped blooms, most famously chequered in chequerboard patterns of dusky purple and pink, though pure white forms also occur. The drooping, lantern-like flowers are unmistakable in a damp meadow.
It is a plant of old, unimproved damp grassland, especially traditionally managed floodplain and hay meadows on moist, fertile soils in sun. Once more frequent, it has become scarce in the wild through drainage and agricultural change, surviving in a handful of celebrated meadows. Early bumblebees are important pollinators of the nectar-bearing flowers. It naturalises well in damp lawns, orchards and meadow turf, and is a treasured choice for spring-flowering wildflower plantings.
Also known as
Fritillary · Guinea-hen-flower · Lazarus bell · Snake's Head · Snakehead Fritillary
Synonyms
Fritillaria contorta · Fritillaria graminifolia · Fritillaria lutea · Fritillaria major · Fritillaria meleagris contorta · Fritillaria meleagris meleagris · Fritillaria montana · Fritillaria pallida · Fritillaria praecox · Fritillaria tesselata · Fritillaria tesselata alba · Fritillaria tesselata lutea
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