Fritillaria meleagris
Fritillary ( Fritillaria meleagris )
Called The Snake's Head Fritillary ( Fritillaria meleagris ), also Schachbrettblume or Kiebitzei, a plant from the lily family is ( Liliaceae ). The specific epithet meleagris means " guinea fowl " and refers to the typical pattern of flowering. It is used as an ornamental plant and was elected to the flower of the year 1993.
Description
The chess flower grows as a perennial herbaceous plant. This precaution green Geophyt forms a round bulb of about 1 to 2 cm in diameter as Überdauerungsorgan. In early spring drives an approximately 15 to 20 cm long, unbranched and nearly round stem. Alternate to this are four to five narrow - rinnige and gray -green colored leaves.
From April to May develop the mostly solitary, rarely in pairs, downwardly hanging flowers. The hermaphrodite, threefold flowers are almost odorless and bell-shaped. The six equally diverse, about 4 cm long tepals whose blunt tip is usually slightly bent, like a chess board are mottled purple - white or greenish- white. Even with the completely white Fritillaria meleagris form f alba the eponymous pattern is barely recognizable. The six yellow stamens are clearly dominated by the tepals. Three carpels are fused to a constant above, dreikammerigen ovary.
The edgy, dreifächerige capsule fruit contains numerous seeds per fruit tray.
The chromosome number is 2n = 24
Ecology
The Schachblume propagated by seeds and vegetatively by forming bulbs. The fritillary is a Kaltkeimer. Pollination is about insects, with Hymenoptera, such as bumble bees or bees that play a central role.
The fritillary is a light plant, which means it grows in full light and tolerates only limited shading. Your ecological focus is on wet, partially flooded, air-lean, moderately nitrogen-rich neutral soils.
Dissemination
The fritillary is the Atlantic- Mediterranean spread. After Krausch her natural range extends from Normandy across central and southern France, the forelands of the Alps, Croatia, Serbia, Hungary and to Romania. In Central Europe is likely the type not to be original and go back to the occurrence Verwilderungen. In the second half of the 16th century, the species was introduced as a garden plant in Central Europe. A still life of the Dutchman Jacob de Gheyn II, written 1600-1603, shows Schachbrettblume, Gretchen - in-the- Green, roses, columbine, lilies, pansies and a Schrenk tulip.
The plant has been demonstrated wild in England only since 1736. A greater incidence is growing, for example, in a meadow of Magdalen College, Oxford. More English deposits are located in Ducklington, a " Site of Special Scientific Interest " and Cricklade in the valley of the Upper Thames.
In Germany there is the largest contiguous deposits in the wet meadows of the two adjacent nature reserves " Sinngrund " at Obersinn and meadows sense of Altengronau to the meaning, a small tributary of the Franconian Saale. The largest deposit east of the Elbe can be found in the immediate vicinity of the city Ziesar in Brandenburg. In addition, the chess flower comes in Germany only on the lower Elbe at Hetlingen ( there are 145 hectares of approximately 80,000 copies), on Elbzufluss Seeve, isolated in the nature reserves Heuckenlock (at the Southern Elbe in Moorwerder ) Duvenstedter Brook and Wittenbergen in sassenberg in Westphalia (Chess flower meadows ) and am Main (eg in Bayreuth) ago. Deposits of the Weser seem now, due to declining agricultural use to recover. In the city Sass Mountain in Münster country has the " City Project Custom House " researched on this topic and organized an exhibition in the spring of 2007. This should be repeated annually.
In Austria it is found for example in Eastern Styria (municipality Großsteinbach ) and in Southern Burgenland ( Hagendorf ).
Endangering
The chess flower is endangered in Germany and is considered by the Federal Species Protection Ordinance ( BArtSchV ) as well as in Austria protected in the individual federal states particularly. She was selected as a flower of the year 1993. It is threatened primarily by the destruction of their natural habitats in moist and wet meadows, lowland forests and flood areas of rivers ( floodplains ). Further, the continuing eutrophication of soils by fertilizers affect the cause was reducing. In Austria the Schachblume as threatened with extinction applies.
System
Fritillaria meleagris was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum.
No more Fritillaria meleagris Fritillaria belongs tubiformis var burnatii ( Planch. ) Rouy ( syn.. Fritillaria meleagris subsp burnatii ( Planchon ) Rix ).
Toxicity
Like most other Fritillaria species is also the Schachblume toxic. Especially the bulb contains a variety of alkaloids, including the Imperialin. Poisoning leads to vomiting, convulsions and cardiovascular problems. At very high doses and in children sometimes threatening cardiac arrest. To treat anticonvulsants be administered.
Use
The fritillary is, though probably less often than in the past, drawn in gardens. After dry summers she often disappears again from these.