Checkered Lily #3
by J McCombie
Title
Checkered Lily #3
Artist
J McCombie
Medium
Photograph - Untouched
Description
Fritillaria meleagris is a species of flowering plant in the family Liliaceae. Its common names include snake's head fritillary (the drooping, unopened bud of a single flower strongly resembles a cobra's striking pose), 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 (since it has a marked check pattern all over the blossom) or, in northern Europe, simply fritillary.
The name Fritillaria comes from the Latin fritillus meaning dice-box, possibly referring to the chequered pattern on the flowers although this derivation has been disputed. The name meleagris means spotted like a guineafowl (because the flower markings are much like the feather patterns on some breeds of guinea fowl). Vita Sackville-West called it "a sinister little flower, in the mournful colour of decay."
The flower has a chequered pattern in shades of purple (dark red or burgundy), or is sometimes pure white. It flowers from March to May and grows between 1540 cm (616 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).
The pure white-flowered variety F. meleagris var. unicolor subvar. alba has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Similar to the more common purple and white checkered lily, this unusual flower is a study subtlety. Checkered Lilies are usually some shade of purple, but always with the pronounced checkered pattern; even the white form 'Alba' has a faint check pattern like a watermark. The checkered pattern is white on white, like that found on a fine china. Excellent for arrangements where the delicate pattern can be appreciated. This fritillaria has slender, silvery-green foliage that doesn't require much room and the nodding, bell-shaped, checkered flowers weave well between fuller spring perennials. This is a fun flower to include in an existing garden where it will pop up in mid to late spring with the late daffodils and just before the lily of the valley blooms.
Now easily available as an ornamental spring bulb for the garden, it is commonly sold as a mixture of different coloured cultivars. Like many plants in the lily family, F. meleagris is susceptible to the scarlet lily beetle, which can seriously damage or kill it.
This plant is native to damp meadows and flood plains in Europe, where it can sometimes be found in large colonies. In Croatia the flower is known as kockavica; the checkerboard pattern on Croatia's coat of arms is sometimes said to derive from the appearance of this local flower. It provides a unique look, especially combined with other spring flowers in contrasting colours. Since they grow natively in moist soil, Checkered Lilies should be planted in an area where the soil does not completely dry out between waterings, for example: under shrubs or trees, where they receive light, sun-dappled shade. In the right environment, they will live long and naturalize well. They attract butterflies, and are outstanding in dried flower arrangements.
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May 14th, 2014
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