Our Flower of the Month for March? The unique snake's head fritillary, that goes by many other monikers: chess flower, frog-cup, guinea-hen flower, guinea flower, leper lily, Lazarus bell, chequered lily, chequered daffodil, drooping tulip or, in northern Europe, quite simply fritillary. Let’s stick with the snake's head for now.
![Floom Frittillaria Hero 1](https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=58ed5e7f766e7c5b30955cfc68102e49 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=2b5dbc274703f28152e54df5f7b06aff 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=ada108157506aabb6db23f18bbdcbf19 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=00e7500372165166ef2cbad1565b4849 400w)
A brief history…
The fritillary is native to Europe and western Asia. Once a common site in Britain – sold at mass in the spring markets of Covent Garden – the hardy perennial that once bloomed wild beside the River Thames and across meadows in the South is sadly increasingly rare thanks to increasingly aggressive farming methods. But it can often be found growing in gardens, distinctive for the snakeskin-type pattern that adorns the bud. It’s the bud’s appearance before it opens, that’s said to resemble the shape of (you guessed it) a snake. And when it does open, it reveals a striking set of checkerboard purple flowers.
![Floom Frittillaria Hero 4](https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=43bd674f56432ae322892663feadb806 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=0243f671f5100c62ca961ddb9c144f52 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=47f0baa1f3ea97da2b6bd88949baec61 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=24569359ebfa81875b095d6fc31d3374 400w)
The fritillary’s beauty arrives and changes with the movement of sunlight. As Andy Byfield of The Guardian wrote in his wonderful ode to the flower: “When a glaring sun sits high in the sky, they take on a sombre hue”. Meanwhile Alan Titchmarsh’s description does the fritillary justice. "There are some flowers that simply make you gasp,” he explains. “They do not need to be large and showy – or even particularly brightly coloured. If they possess an innate elegance then that is quite enough to leave any gardener swooning.”
![Floom Frittillaria Hero 2](https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=16c5fccb9d4424673ca39e4465246ba3 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=5a63cf9d6acc552c2f3b916abd75a0d5 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=a4ff70f665b22bf323c36a2a6b3e1e04 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=8cc65a67d0809bdc8f7e5b095f39ba2f 400w)
The fritillary has inspired much lyrical outpourings in its honour – so it seems fitting that the fritillary is in fact the county flower of Oxfordshire, one of the great academic and literary strongholds of the world. Beyond words though, and as much as we love the lilting patterns they bring to a bouquet, they are at their finest in the wildes of an English country meadow – poking up beyond the long grass to remind us of the natural beauty there just bursting to get out, if only we’ll allow it to flourish.
![Floom Frittillaria Hero 3](https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=91f1e0b8f6904243edcff2bfdcaefbfc 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=1f6858b163ec47d0eef21e651ab7d40d 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=a92a4c2f03d0431936463641561d979e 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=8d794e0a35c3888531765814fe6b339c 400w)
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
The fritillary made a name for itself in the art world, too. Most famously through Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist, Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s drawings of wild flowers. His 1915 drawing of a fritillary is perhaps his most elegant and delicate of all, brought to life via chequer-work and repetition on its petals that mirrors many of his decorative stencils.
![Floom Frittillaria Hero 5](https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-5.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=1bad875d2eff17820d1aeaf12e0f34ec 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-5.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=6ff0b7e7883dec45ce911a7521ae19c2 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-5.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=546efc18120223478efa69d8f26a5e2a 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-5.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=66e4e461bba45439e544945d017b94fc 400w)
Love from Loewe
What’s that, the fritillary is a fashion favourite too? Spanish luxury fashion house Loewe celebrated Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s creative vision and enduring legacy via their ´LOEWE Conversations´ series, that saw them bring author, gallerist and Mackintosh expert Roger Billcliffe together with renowned design critic and art historian Anatxu Zabalbeascoa to discuss the creative’s work and legacy. In turn, his fritillary drawing appeared on a limited-run T-shirt, and also on their shopping bags.
![Du Ycc46 X4 Aa0Xwe](https://floom.imgix.net/general/DuYCc46X4AA0xwe.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=0bd5bc36c4b0b0fbf84fcd191c953f1e 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/DuYCc46X4AA0xwe.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=5b6defbf63f31820c090a18a6ea2b003 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/DuYCc46X4AA0xwe.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=c7fd11e5e089c5563a3d7b85f15af3ed 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/DuYCc46X4AA0xwe.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=8449a783f4f03db44698ec94fe8a5524 400w)
The Wildlife Trust
One particular nature reserve in the heart of Oxford is doing all its can to preserve the legacy of the snake's-head fritillary, which has in fact made a stellar comeback. When the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust took over Iffley Meadows in 1983 there were just 500 plants left, but thanks to careful management, there are now an astounding 42,000 flowers that spring up each April, carpeting the field providing a rare and beautiful sight.
![Floom Frittillaria Hero 6](https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=059686da6e5c0f5fe2be8514424f6fee 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=cd1cea302f602a9b471af56903a33a69 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=3f2e6c8de7fd10bcfec8d8c0b3037c31 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Floom-frittillaria-hero-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=0d6c5d417c2ea5c06c727d4238e41087 400w)
Latin Legacy
The botanical name for the fritillary is “fritillaria meleagris” which comes from a combination of the Latin for “spotted like a guinea fowl”. Which we can only assume is the reason for the fritillary’s other names: guinea-hen flower and guinea flower.
Unique Uppland
The fritillary is the official flower of the Swedish province of Uppland. A harbinger of spring, it can be found growing in abundance in the meadows in Kungsängen just outside Uppsala, which gives the flower its Swedish name, “kungsängslilja” that translates beautifully to “lily of kings meadow”.