The Common Snowdrop...the First to Bloom in Spring©

 

 

Common Snowdrop plants, galanthus nivalis, photograph by the Author.

Have you ever seen a Common Snowdrop plant, galanthus nivalis, or as it is sometimes also called, simply, a Snowdrop plant?

 

Common Snowdrop plants, galanthus nivalis, photograph by the Author.

Common Snowdrops are among the first plants to flower each spring, often turning the forest floor into a sea of small white flowers.  Originally from Europe, they have spread into Great Britain and the eastern portions of both the United States and Canada, where they are considered a naturalized plant.

 

The native range of the Common Snowdrop, galanthus nivalis, from United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services.

 

From Wikimedia, “Figure 49 from Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen”, Johann Georg Sturm, (Painter, Jacob Sturm), 1796, HERE.

The Common Snowdrop was named galanthus nivalis, by Carl Linnaeus in 1735, in his book, Systema Naturae, the name is from the Greek word “gála”, or milk, and “ánthos”, or flower.  The name Snowdrop for this plant was first recorded in 1663, by the English botanist, John Gerard, in his book Great Herbal, apparently it was called this because it looks like a drop of snow emerging from ground.

 

Common Snowdrops grow from three to six inches (7-15 cm) tall, and bloom in the wild, sometime between January and May, depending on where in the northern temperate zone they are found.  They are perennial flowers which sprout each spring from bulbs, and from each bulb grows two greenish-gray leaves and a single stalk, from which a single bell-shaped flower hangs.  Each flower has six petals, three outers and three inners, and each inner petal has a greenish yellow “V” or “U” shaped notch in its tip.  This green, yellow notch acts as a guide for pollinators and helps with photosynthesis as well.

 

Note the green-yellow notch on the inside petals of Common Snowdrop plants, pictured above, photograph by the Author.

The flowers of the Common Snowdrop only last for about a week, and when the blossoms fade, they leave behind a green capsule, about a ½ inch (12 mm) in diameter, which is full of seeds.  A few weeks later the leaves of the Common Snowdrop die, and the plant goes into hiding again, until next spring.

 

The flowers of the Common Snowdrop plants, only last about a week.  Photograph by the Author.

And just because it is the first question that everyone always asks, no you can’t eat them!  While Common Snowdrops are not highly toxic to humans, eating any part of the plant, either the flowers, the leaves, or the roots, can nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, especially if they are eaten in quantity, so don’t do it!

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “A Walk in the Gorge, a Seiche and Stranded Fish©”, where I will talk about what I found in the Niagara River Gorge, just below Niagara Falls, on a recent walk.

 

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at Bandanaman Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

 

Sources

 

Crawford, Bruce; “Snowdrops – The Start of the Garden Symphony”, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, [© 2021 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Rutgers, New Jersey], https://njaes.rutgers.edu/plant-of-the-month/galanthus.php, accessed March 30, 2021

 

Kew Science, Plants of the World, “Galanthus nivalis L”, [© Copyright Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew], http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:64496-1#:~:text=Galanthus%20nivalis%20was%20described%20by,with%20milk%2Dwhite%20flowers)., accessed March 30, 2021

 

NC State Extension, “Galanthus nivalis”, [NC State University], https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/galanthus-nivalis/, accessed March 30, 2021

 

United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services, “Galanthus nivalis L. snowdrop”, https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=GANI, accessed March 30, 2021

 

Wikimedia, “Figure 49 from Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen”, Johann Georg Sturm, (Painter, Jacob Sturm), 1796, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Galanthus_nivalis_Sturm49.jpg, accessed March 30, 2021