Daily Vocabulary for Better Conversation

The Common Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) is the best-known representative of a small genus of about 20 species in the family Amaryllidaceae that are among the first bulbs to bloom in spring.

All species of Galanthus have bulbs, linear leaves, and erect flowering stalks, destitute of leaves but bearing at the top a solitary pendulous bell-shaped flower. Galanthus nivalis grows 15cm tall, flowering in January or February in the northern temperate zone. The white flower has six petals, the outer three segments being larger and more convex than the inner series. The six anthers open by pores or short slits. The ovary is three-celled, ripening into a three-celled capsule.

Snowdrops should not be confused with their relatives Snowflakes, Leucojum species; leucojums are much larger and flower in spring (or early summer, depending on the species), with all six petals in the flower the same size, though it should be noted that some poculiform (slipper-shaped) Galanthus can have inner segments similar in length to the outer ones.

Common snowdrop

Propagation is by offsets removed when the plants are at rest, immediately after the leaves have withered; or by seeds sown either when ripe, or in spring. Professional growers and keen amateurs also use such methods as twin-scaling to increase the stock of choice varieties quickly.

Double-flowered forms such as Galanthus nivalis f. pleniflorus 'Flore Pleno' may be less attractive to the eye of the purist. There are numerous cultivars (cultivated varieties), single and double, differing particularly in the size and markings of the flower, the period of flowering, and other characteristics of interest to keen (even fanatical) collectors known as galanthophiles.

Other notable species:

• Crimean snowdrop, Galanthus plicatus, 30 cm tall, flowering January/March, white flowers, with broad leaves folded back at the edges
• Giant snowdrop, Galanthus elwesii, a native of the Levant, 23 cm tall, flowering January/February, with large flowers, the three inner segments of which often have a much larger and more conspicuous green blotch (or blotches) than the more common kinds.
  

It was suggested by Duvoisin in 1983 that the mysterious magical herb moly that appears in Homer's Odyssey is actually snowdrop. An active substance in snowdrop is called galantamine, which, as anticholinesterase, could have acted as an antidote to Circe's poisons. Galantamine (or galanthamine) can be helpful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, though it is not a cure; the substance also occurs naturally in daffodils and other narcissi.

• Galanthus nivalis Poculiformis Group - inner segments are almost same length and shape as outer ones, usually unmarked and without a sinus (notch); includes such cultivars as 'Sandhill Gate'
• G. nivalis Sandersii Group - marks on inner segments are yellow instead of green; includes 'Sandersii' and 'Lutescens'
• G. nivalis Scharlockii Group - donkey's ears snowdrop with elongated spathe split down centre, resembling upright ears

Gallery

Illustration of Common Snowdrop from Thom	Snowdrops in England in January	Snowdrops growing in a cluster	Galanthus elwesii
Snowdrop (Sweden)

• Aaron P. Davis, The Genus Galanthus, A Botanical Magazine Monograph. Timber Press, Portland, OR (in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) ISBN 0-881924318
• Matt Bishop, Aaron Davis, John Grimshaw, SNOWDROPS A Monograph of Cultivated Galanthus, Griffin Press, January 2002 (ISBN 0-954191609)
• Gvaladze G.E. Ultrastructural study of Embryo Sac of Galanthus nivalis L. In: Fertilization and embryogenesis, Bratislava, 1983
• Gvaladze G.E., Akhalkatsi M.Sh. Ultrastructure of autumn and spring Embryo Sac of Galanthus nivalis L.- Annales Scientifiques de l'Universite de Reims Champagne-Ardenne et de l'A.R.E.R.S., 1988, Numero 23
• Homer's moly identified as Galanthus nivalis L.: physiologic antidote to stramonium poisoning. Plaitakis A, Duvoisin RC. Clin Neuropharmacol. 1983 Mar; 6(1):1-5. Abstract

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Galanthus nivalis

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