Last year the Snakeshead Fritillaries flowering coincided with widespread flooding so if you weren't in the right place on the right day you didn't get to see them because they were under water. This year the conditions have been much more to their liking, with flooding earlier in the winter. The flood meadows are still a bit squishy, but the Snakeshead Fritillaries are very happy and flowering well.
Snakeshead Fritillary Fritillaria meleagris (Fr. Fritillaire pintade) is endemic to northern and central Europe. The species is an indicator of a damp habitat, and they favour flood meadows that are fertilized by silt in the winter. They can be found up to 1800 metres above sea level in several areas of France, but the Loire Valley is one of their most important strongholds. It is concentrated in the west of France. Until last year it had been considered extinct in Belgium for over a hundred years.
The population and distribution of this species is reducing, because of intensive farming methods and the urbanisation of flood meadows. Annual surveys indicate that there are well over a million plants in western France, but numbers are declining. Snakeshead Fritillaries are protected either fully or partially in most of their area of distribution in France.
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