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Fritillaria meleagris

Common name:	Snakehead Fritillary	Family:	Liliaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The bulb is poisonous[100].
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Sweden south and west to France, Serbia and the Lower Volga.
Habitat:	Damp meadows and pastures[17], especially on alkaline soils[90].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Lilium variegatum[H] Narcissus caparonius[H]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Chequered Daffodil [H], Common Fritillary [H], Fritillaria [E], Fritillary [L], Ginny Flower [H], Guinea Flower [H], Snake's Head Fritillary [H], Turkey Hen [H], Wilde Kievitsbloem [D],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Liliales. Lily family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Europe; Nc

Physical Characteristics

Bulb growing to 0.3m by 0.08m . It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen from June to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Meadow.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

The plant formerly had a reputation as a healing herb, but is not used at present[4].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a moist non-acid soil and a sunny position[17, 24, 42]. Succeeds in any soil, preferring a light soil with plenty of humus[1, 90]. Succeeds in sun or light shade[1, 90]. Grows well in short turf[108].
A very ornamental plant[1], it often self-sows when in a suitable position.
Rabbits are very fond of this plant and will destroy it wholesale if given the opportunity[4].
A good plant for the spring meadow[24, 90, 134]. The flowers are very attractive to bees[108].
Plants should not be allowed to dry out in the summer[90].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in the spring[1]. Protect from frost[134]. Stored seed should be sown as soon as possible and can take a year or more to germinate[134]. Sow the seed quite thinly to avoid the need to prick out the seedlings. Once they have germinated, give them an occasional liquid feed to ensure that they do not suffer mineral deficiency. Once they die down at the end of their second growing season, divide up the small bulbs, planting 2 - 3 to an 8cm deep pot. Grow them on for at least another year in light shade in the greenhouse before planting them out whilst dormant.
Division of offsets in August[1]. The larger bulbs can be planted out direct into their permanent positions, but it is best to pot up the smaller bulbs and grow them on in a cold frame for a year before planting them out in the autumn.
Bulb scales[163].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Liliaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden.
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.

[42] Grey. C. H. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate. 1938
Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.

[90] Phillips. R. and Rix. M. Bulbs Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30253-1
Superbly illustrated, it gives brief details on cultivation and native habitat.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.

[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.

[163] RHS Lily Group. Lilies and Related Plants.
Lots of interesting snippets about plants in the family Liliaceae (in the old, broad sense)

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.