What an amazing sight to see a swathe of Snakeshead Fritilleries growing near Cricklade at the edge of the Cotswolds – home to a staggering 80% of this native beauty still growing in the wild.  This is one of the few remaining “Lammas” – a community grown hay-field on a nutrient rich flood plane – most of these sites have long been lost to modern farming methods.

In Chinese Medicine, Fritillary bulbs have a long history.  The “Divine Farmer’s Materia Medica”, thought to have been compiled around 200-300 BCE, listed Fritillary for such diverse sympoms as acute fever, dribbling, phlegm accumulation, insufficient breast-milk, and wounds1.  However, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME – many fritillaries are poisonous, not to mention rare, and have to be carefully processed before use. Continue reading