Crown imperial (Fritillaria), fam. Liliaceae.
   In Russian and Ukrainian, this plant is name similarly to a bird, Hazel grouse, for their speckled (chessboard-like) pattern of the petals and the feather, respectively. Fritillaria is a genus of about thirty plants, which grow in wild nature in southern forest steppes and mountain districts. They can be discerned from other ornamental plants by a straight stem, the top of which is surrounded with a crown of short leaves and quite large flowers, blooming in April-May and typically having orange color (F. imperialis – Crown imperial; F. eduardii).
   Crown imperials are usually propagated with bulb division, but also sometimes from seeds. The propagation from seeds is not very popular among the amateur gardeners, since after that it is needed to wait about 7 years for the first blooming.
   Crown imperials have one more benefit, which is, to be true, not yet proven scientifically. Owing to specific smell of the bulbs, Crown imperial can be used to deter moles and mole crickets from the land plot.

---