A very rare flower: the snake's head
The Snake's Head
This flower is called snake's head (Fritillaria meleagris), "kievitsbloem" in Dutch, "рябчик шахматный" in Russian.
It is a very rare (and protected) species in the wild in The Netherlands, and extinct in Belgium and many other European countries. It can take a bit of time to find them in the wild, but I did:
Olympus XZ-1, 70mm, ISO100, f5.6, 1/125s
This plant is found in areas of clay-on-peat that flood in winter. Adjustments to the water level by agriculture make it disappear. The seeds float on water, so it depends on flooding to spread, and it takes a plant eight years before it blooms.
I even found some clusters of these flowers this year:
Olympus Stylus 1s, 42mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/100s
This one is even rarer, a white version:
Olympus Stylus 1s, 42mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/100s
This is a very strange one, it is the first time I have seen one like this. It looks like something inbetween, as if undecided on its colour. It could be a hybrid, or a mutation. I haven't been able to find out yet if it is rare or unusual:
Olympus Stylus 1s, 42mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/125s
I would be interested to know if any of you have seen these in the wild in other countries.
Thanks for watching!
@ocrdu they look pretty in clusters - they come from bulbs yes?
the white one is an Albino? :D haha
Yes, bulbs. The bulbs are poisonous, like the rest of the plant, so don't taste them.
In Romania we call this "Spotted tulip" and it's very rare. It only grows in some regions of the country and is a variety protected by the law.
Spotted tulip is a good name 8-). It's protected here in The Netherlands as well. Nice flower to have, it is extinct in many countries.
Beautiful flowers and really amazing!
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Never have seen that before. Really beautiful. Thans for sharing :-)
My pleasure. So, none in your part of Germany then?
I have never seen a snake´s head before :-) Perhaps in other regions in germany but in berlin or south germany I was not able to see one of these beauties :-)
Wow!!!! I have never seen such plants
Now you have 8-). Where do you live?
in Israel
They are very beautiful. I have seen similar here but perhaps not the same ones given their method of propogation
It's not native to Scotland AFAIK, but there could be garden escapees 8-).
Yes that is what I was thinking, it is very distinctive!!
Never seen them in the US. But an amazing flower, and even more amazing it takes 8 years to bloom. No wonder it is having a hard time, besides necessary habitat loss. Thanks for sharing a rarity.
You are most welcome.
Its Nice flower and very beautiful