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Galanthus nivalis

Common name:	Snowdrop	Family:	Amaryllidaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The bulb is somewhat poisonous[100, 200]
Range:	Europe, including Britain, the Netherlands to the Pyrenees, east to N. Syria, S. E. Russia, W. Asia.
Habitat:	Shady pastures, woods and orchards, usually on damp soils[4, 13, 17]. Probably native in Wales and W. England, but naturalized in other parts of Britain[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Common Snowdrop [H], Kardelen [E], Snowdrop [H,L,P,E,B], Snowdrops [MS],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	nivalis = of the snow;
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Turkey

Physical Characteristics

Bulb growing to 0.2m by 0.08m . It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf from January to June, in flower from February to March, and the seeds ripen from May to June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Meadow, Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Emmenagogue.

The plant is emmenagogue[4].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a moist heavy loam[108], growing well in grass or amongst shrubs[1]. Prefers a shady position[28, 31].
The dormant bulbs are fairly hardy and will withstand soil temperatures down to at least -5°c[214].
A very ornamental plant[1], it grows well on the woodland edge[24].
The bulbs should be planted about 5 - 7cm deep as early in the spring as possible[1].
A good bee plant, providing an early source of pollen and nectar[108].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[1]. Sow the seed thinly so that there is no need to thin them. The seed usually germinates in the spring[1]. Grow them on in the same pot in a cold frame for the first two years, giving an occasional liquid feed to ensure the plants do not become nutrient deficient. Pot up the small bulbs whilst they are still in leaf in early summer of their second year's growth, putting about 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on in the cold frame for a further year before planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring whilst they are still in growth. The plants take about 4 years to flower from seed[200].
Division of offsets[1, 200]. This is best done immediately after the plants have finished flowering (and still have green leaves) though it can also be done in late summer and early autumn when the plants are dormant[200].
Scooping.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Amaryllidaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden.
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.

[28] Knight. F. P. Plants for Shade. Royal Horticultural Society. 1980 ISBN 0-900629-78-9
A small but informative booklet listing plants that can be grown in shady positions with a few cultivation details.

[31] Brown. Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[214] Matthews. V. The New Plantsman. Volume 1, 1994. Royal Horticultural Society 1994 ISBN 1352-4186
A quarterly magazine, it has articles on Himalayacalamus hookerianus, hardy Euphorbias and an excellent article on Hippophae spp.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.