Did you know…

…snake’s head fritillaries are named after guinea fowl.

Fritillaria is the name of the genus; there are between 130 and 140 different species of Fritillaria out there in the world. The specific name meleagris is the name of the one species we call snake’s head fritillary.

In Latin, meleagris means guinea fowl; it references the guinea fowl’s spotted, almost chequered, plumage. The likeness is unmistakeable once it has been pointed out.

However the English common name, snake’s head fritillary, must surely come from the snake-like appearance of the fritillary’s drooping flower buds.