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Snake's Head Lily

Fritillaria meleagris

Description:

The Snake's Head Fritillary is native to Europe but in many places (including France, Slovenia and Romania) it is an endangered species that is rarely found in the wild but is commonly grown in gardens. In Croatia, the flower is known as kockavica and is associated by some with the country's national symbol. It is the official flower of the Swedish province of Uppland, where it grows in large quantities every spring at the meadows in Kungsängen (Kings meadow), just outside Uppsala, which gives the flower its Swedish name, kungsängslilja (Lily of Kings meadow). It is also found in Sandemar strandängar (Sandemar beach meadows), a nature reserve west of the village of Dalarö in the Stockholm archipelago.

Habitat:

The flower has a chequered pattern in shades of purple, or is sometimes pure white. It flowers from March to May and grows between 15 and 40 cm in height. The plant has a round bulb, about 2 cm in diameter which contains poisonous alkaloids. It is commonly found growing in grasslands in damp soils and river meadows and can be found at altitudes up to 800 metres.


1 species ID suggestions

Snakes Head Fritillary
Fritillary meleagris Fritillaria meleagris

3 Comments

Maria dB
Maria dB 12 months ago

very pretty!

LizAndersen
LizAndersen a year ago

Thank you VivBraznell:)

Sachin Zaveri
Sachin Zaveri a year ago

Beautiful,

Fredrikstad, Østfold, Norway

Lat: 59.19, Long: 10.86

Spotted on May 18, 2012
Submitted on May 19, 2012

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