SNAKE'S-HEAD FR1TILLARY 



139 



The flowers are solitary, and last five days, being erect in bud, then 

 drooping, egg-shaped, pyramidal, bell-shaped. The nectary with con- 

 cealed honey is a narrow green gland at the base of the petal, which 

 causes an external protuberance. The corolla is swollen below, and 

 bears the stamens at its base, with awl-like anther-stalks. They are 

 twice as long as the pistil, and bear oblong, yellow or greenish anthers, 

 which after they have opened are half as long, and then lie on a level 

 with the stigma. The 3 styles are furrowed and downy, thickened, 

 and spreading. The stigmas are softly hairy and simple. It is thus 

 adapted for insect visits, and in their absence to self-pollination. 

 The plant is protero- 

 o-vnous, the stigma 



fc> J <^> 



ripening first. 



The fruit, a cap- 

 sule, contains many 

 seeds, and splits open, 

 distributing them 

 close to the parent 

 plant. 



The plant is a 

 sand plant, growing 

 in sand soil or sandy 

 loam, the alluvium of 

 most valleys. 



Fritillaria, Lobel, 

 is from the Latin fri- 

 tillus, a dice-box, from 



the shape of the flowerhead. Meleagris, Dodonseus, is Greek for 

 guinea-fowl, from the chequered pattern of the corolla. 



Names by which the Fritillary is known include Dead Man's 

 Bell, Chequered Daffodil, Chequered Lily or Tulip, Cowslip, Crow- 

 cup, Daffodil, Deith-bell, Drooping Tulip, Fritillary, Frits, Froccup, 

 Guinea-hen Flower, Lazarus Bell, Leopard's Pheasant, Snake's -head 

 Lily, Snake Flower, Snowdrop, Toads-head, Weeping Willow, Widow 

 Wail. Lazarus Bell was originally Lazar's Bell, and the flower was 

 so called from the small bell the lazar wore on his person. Leopard's 

 Lily is doubtless Leper's Lily, and both from the chequered appear- 

 ance also. It was called Death Bell from the dingy, sad colour of 

 the flowers. The name Drooping Tulip is from the habit it has of 

 drooping and its likeness to a tulip. Froccup is Frog Cup from its 

 spotted flowers, and Guinea-hen Flower from the marking of the 



. Dr. Somerville Hastings 



SNAKE'S-HEAD FRITILLARY (Fritillaria Meleagris, L.) 



