Fritillary - Fritillaria meleagris

Alternative names
Snake’s Head Fritillary
Description

It is a medium plant (20 to 40cm), with nodding, chequered, bell shaped purple flowers.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Originally a plant of wet meadows, but now regularly planted.

When to see it

Flowering in April and May.

Life History

Perennial.

UK Status

It was once common in wet meadows in the South of Britain, but draining, ploughing and fertilizers have greatly reduced the sites where the massed blooms appear in the wild.

VC55 Status

Rare in Leicestershire and Rutland where all records are probably of introduced plants. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 2 of the 617 tetrads.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Snake's Head, Fritillary
Species group:
Wildflowers
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Liliales
Family:
Liliaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
27
First record:
02/04/2014 (Fletcher, John)
Last record:
03/04/2024 (axon, kaye)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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