Galanthus is a genus in the Amaryllidaceae family with about 20 species distributed from Europe and western Asia to the Caspian Sea. It was the subject of the topic of the week in February 2004. Seeds should be planted straight away in May. Very lightly on the surface covered by compost peat etc and kept slightly humid throughout the summer. The plantlets appear at end of December (at the same time as the bulbs). Sowing later in the summer has resulted in the past in very mediocre results (Lauw de Jager). The Introduction was posted by John Grimshaw. Reference books are Snowdrops, by Matt Bishop, Aaron Davis and John Grimshaw, published by the Griffin Press and The Genus Galanthus by A.P. Davis from the Royal Botanical Garden, Kew, and Timber Press.
Galanthus elwesii is native to Turkey. The first photo from Arnold Trachtenberg and the second from Jay Yourch. The third photo is of a poculiform flower, that has no green marks, and all petals the same length. It appears to be male-sterile, as the anthers are a bit deformed and don't produce pollen. It flowers later than most of my elwesii, just opening in mid-February. It came from my grandparents' 5 acres of woodland in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. They began the garden about 85 years ago, and snowdrops have been seeding themselves ever since. Most are G. elwesii, as it thrives in our dry summers. The fourth photo shows a seedpod which contained 22 seeds ripened in mid-April from a normal flower that bloomed in an unheated greenhouse at the end of January. The seeds look as though they have begun germinating, but instead, each has an elaiosome which attracts ants which then disperse the seeds. The last two photos by Diane Whitehead.
Galanthus ikariae is native to the Aegean Islands off the coast of Greece. It's small, even for a snowdrop, with arching, glossy green foliage. Photo taken March 2007 by Jay Yourch.
Galanthus nivalis 'Sandersii' is a cultivar with yellow marks on the inner segments instead of green.
Photo by John Lonsdale.
Galanthus 'Otto Fauser' is an Australian raised snowdrop named for a highly esteemed plantsman in this country. Photo in July by Lyn Edwards, Canberra Australia.
Galanthus peshmenii grows in scrub and rocky places in southwest Turkey and Greece. It flowers in the fall. First photo by John Lonsdale. Another photo, by Jane McGary, shows G. peshmenii in the wild in southwestern Turkey, where it favors very well drained sites such as steep banks in dappled shade. A large colony was even seen in the duff that had collected on top of a large boulder.
Galanthus plicatus 'Wendys Gold' is a cultivar with yellow markings. Photo by John Lonsdale.
Galanthus reginae-olgae is similar to Galanthus nivalis. It has variants that bloom from autumn to spring and is reasonably hardy. It is a native of dryish woodland at low altitudes. Photo by John Lonsdale.
Galanthus images in a collage. Grown and photographed in New Jersey by Arnold Trachtenberg.
For more pictures of this genus see Mark Smyth's website and Judy's Snowdrops