Note 6: Fritillaria meleagris - a snake in the grass

Once again, another trip around the sun has brought us to April, a month when the hedgerows and meadows begin to awaken with life bursting out reassuringly from the ground.  One of the first meadow stalwarts to raise their heads are the snake’s-head frittilaries (Fritillaria meleagris).  They appear particularly early under the walnut tree, perhaps two weeks or more before their open-ground brethren in the meadow beyond. With their bowing heads of chequered purple petals, they’re held up on wiry stems adorned with narrow pointed leaves -  a plant that will receive comments of adoration from anyone who spots them. 

A bulbous plant of damp meadows, the first sign of their return is the flowerless stem coiled up into the striking pose of a cobra.  These gradually straighten before the developing buds swell and open into the four-petalled flowers we love.

Now a rare site there’s much discussion as to whether these plants are native.  No written records exist before the 17th century though the general consensus amongst botanists is that it was native in post-glacial England remaining in the seasonally flooded woodlands after the north sea channel opened over 7,000 years ago.  It’s the loss of these wooded areas, perhaps their true habitat, that has forced the fritillaries out into the meadows.  Perhaps an indication too, as to why my plants do so well under the canopy of a large walnut tree. 

A  plant listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain, it is only present in around thirty sites nationwide.  Despite this, their availability as a garden plant is surprisingly widespread.  The easily purchased bulbs not much bigger than a marrowfat pea are inexpensive and do well in pots as well as in open ground - I’ve planted thousands over the years.