A sinister little flower.

In my list of favourite beautiful flowers the snake's head fritillary Fritillaria meleagris, a lily native to Britain would certainly be in the top ten.

The name fritillary comes from the Latin fritillus meaning a dice-box. Back in 1597 J. Gerard wrote in his herbal that "It hath been called Frittillaria, of the table or boord vpon which men plaie at chesse, which square checkers the flower doth very much resemble, some thinking that the chess-boardwas named Frittillus.

The flower has several other common names including simply snake's head (the original English name), chess flower, frog-cup, guinea-hen flower, leper lily (because its shape resembled the bell once carried by lepers), Lazarus bell, and checkered lily.

Vita Sackville-West, novelist, poet, exuberant aristocrat and co-creator of the glorious gardens at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, called it "a sinister little flower, in the mournful colour of decay."