Featured 1620s plant of the season

Snakeshead Fritillary

This flower gets its name from the viperish colour and shape of the unopened flower. It was also known as Lazarus Bell or Leopard/Lepers’ Bell because it resembled the shape of the warning bell carried by carriers of leprosy. In common with many of our plants from the past, it had many other local or regional names including Drooping Tulip, Madam Ugly, Turkey Eggs, Toad’s Head and Guinea Hen Flower.

This attractive Snakeshead Fritillary flowers during the spring and prefers damp conditions. Initially we planted a small number of bulbs in the 1620s Garden, and now it is spreading from seeds quite readily, especially in the rose garden.

There is real confusion as to whether it is a true, native plant. It grows wild in water meadows, but there is no evidence that it was identified or noted before 1578. It certainly grows in the valley of the River Loire in France. Some plant researchers claim that it was brought from France to England by Protestant refugees sometime after the infamous Massacre of Saint Bartholomew in 1572. By the 1590s it had become much-admired both for its beauty and for the unusual, chequered patterning.