Non flowering sub-adult Fritillary Facts develops between 3-8 years. Snake’s head fritillaries (Fritillaria Fritillary Life Cycle meleagris) are nationally rare, but can be Single leaf very abundant locally. There are only a developed after few sites in the UK where the population 1-3 years is truly native. Fully grown flowering adult develops at 5-8 years but it may not flower every year. The bare patches of earth left by the Conditions in the previous floods create areas where fritillaries can flowering season will determine flowering. Fritillary life cycle germinate. The fritillaries rely on the traditional meadow system for survival as they cannot tolerate grazing during the After pollination, seeds ripen and the stem stretches to growing season. maximise seed dispersal distance Seed dispersal by wind, water or hay making. Other names recorded include: Chequered Lily, Dead Man’s Bell, Leper’s Seed germinates Bells and Oaksey Lily. Fritillary and Jan-March after Flowers in April frost ‘Fritillaria’ come from a Latin origin and is fertile for ‘fritillus’ which means ‘dice-box’ as the about 5 days. If the flower is Pollination is not pollinated, it markings are similar to a chequer board. usually by bees. falls over and dies ‘Meleagris’ means ‘speckled’ and is the rapidly Stem falls over 15 days after Greek name for a Guinea hen. fruit development

Fritillary flowers are pollinated by bees Annual Fritillary cycle and attract them by waving their chequered flowers and reflecting near The bulb produces a shoot in Spring Bulb becomes dormant for infra red and UV light, so bees can ‘see’ the summer which flowers are ready for pollination.

An old country belief of the wild fritillary Sept-Oct, bulb becomes was that it followed the path of the Bulb becomes dormant for active and develops roots. Romans, springing up wherever their the winter footsteps had fallen. After Corporaal et al 1993 Fritillary identification Floodplain Meadows Partnership Snake’s Head Fritillary Research (Fritillaria meleagris) The fritillary is a member of the lily family and flowers from April to May. It Research has been carried out on the arises from a small green stem that can fritillary populations at North Meadow, vary from 200-500 mm in height and has which makes up 80% of the total UK slender curved leaves. population.

The pendulous lily shaped flowers are The plants are counted annually at fixed either purple, pink or white and have a positions by the Floodplain Meadows chequered pattern. Each plant usually Partnership. Volunteers count the has only one flower. Occasionally two or numbers of plants and flowers (including very rarely three flower heads are seen. the colour) and measure the plant height.

The graph below indicates that the species was steadily increasing from 2001 to 2012 followed by a catastrophic crash in 2013. The increase in vegetative plants in 2002 and 2008 suggests that the fritillary population benefits from occasional summer flooding but excessive flooding as seen in 2012 can be disastrous..

Abundance of fritillaries at North Meadow, Cricklade 1999-2013 in 130 1 x 1 m quadrats All photos: Mike Dodd 800 Total

Vegetative 600 The 29th May 1961 Flowering Charitable Trust 400

200 in 130 1 x m quadrats Total number of fritillaries Total

0 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 www.floodplainmeadows.org.uk Year