Category: Galanthus

Galanthus nivalis

This is the snowdrop most likely to be encountered on woodland walks and the species most frequently grown in gardens. The Common Snowdrop Galanthus nivalis is a hardy plant, native to parts of Europe from the Pyrenees eastwards to Ukraine, where it favours shaded, sloping woodland and commonly grows alongside trees such as oak, ash, and elm. Although non-native to the UK, it is a much-loved species. The exact date of its introduction is unclear, but it was known in cultivation in Britain by 1597 and had appeared in the wild by 1778.

Befitting its common name, the Common Snowdrop is the most widely cultivated of all Galanthus species, with an extraordinary number of cultivars and forms available. It has also been used extensively in hybridisation and may, when growing close to species such as Galanthus plicatus, give rise to hybrids in the wild.

If you encounter snowdrops growing in great drifts in churchyards, woodland, or on country estates, they are, in most cases, nivalis.

Identification

In a wild state, Galanthus nivalis is the only snowdrop occurring in the UK with narrow, glaucous leaves – less than the width of your little fingernail – and applanate (opposing) vernation. Look a little closer, and you’ll often notice that these narrow leaves twist slightly to one side as they mature. Compared with the other snowdrop species found wild in the UK, it is quite distinctive: Galanthus elwesii has broad, blue-grey leaves; Galanthus woronowii has bright green leaves; and G. plicatus shows characteristic pleating along the margins. Easy peasy.

When it comes to the flowers, the typical form bears a simple inverted V-shaped mark on the inner petals, although, as you’ll see under varieties, this can vary considerably.

In cultivation, G. nivalis can be confused with a handful of other narrow-leaved snowdrops, though these are relatively rare. The only other common species with glaucous leaves and applanate vernation is Queen Olga’s snowdrop Galanthus reginae-olgae. Crucially, however, this species usually shows a pale, silvery stripe running down the centre of the leaf. In addition, G. reginae-olgae subsp. reginae-olgae flowers in autumn, well before the typical flowering time of G. nivalis. The same is true of the rare but superficially similar Peshmen’s snowdrop Galanthus peshmenii – a collector’s species that flowers in autumn before the leaves are visible.

A rather typically Common Snowdrop with narrow, glaucescent leaves
Note the typical green ‘v-shaped’ marking on the inner petal
Typical flower of G. nivalis
G. nivalis is the species most likely to form drifts as seen here

Varieties

There are quite literally hundreds, if not thousands, of G. nivalis varieties in circulation, and without a collector’s eye, many can appear very similar, differing only in subtle details. Keeping things broad, some representative forms and cultivars include:

Viridescent forms of G. nivalis, in which the flowers are variously marked with green. Well-known examples include ‘Viridapice’, ‘Modern Art’, and ‘Green Tear’, though similar variants are often found in the wild.

G. nivalis ‘Sandersii Group’, the famed “yellow snowdrop”, first encountered in Northumberland, in which the usual green markings on the inner petals and the colour of the ovary are replaced by yellow.

G. nivalis ‘Flore Pleno’, the familiar double-flowered form that is regularly encountered among wild and naturalised populations.

The double-flowered form G. nivalis ‘Flore Pleno’ discarded over a garden fence

Confusion Species

We covered the differences with G. reginae-olgae above, but a more likely source of confusion is Galanthus × valentinei, the hybrid between G. nivalis and G. plicatus. This hybrid is widespread in cultivation and also occurs frequently among naturalised populations. It typically has broader leaves than G. nivalis, with shallow pleats towards the base, though these are not as pronounced as in G. plicatus.

G. × valentinei has been extensively cultivated, but one form that appears with some regularity and may escape across the garden fence is Galanthus ‘Atkinsii’. Discovered by the Gloucestershire nurseryman James Atkins and introduced in the 1860s, its exact parentage remains unclear, though it likely includes G. plicatus. As Mick Crawley notes, this cultivar can often be recognised by its long, drooping outer petals.

Pleated leaves of G. plicatus – hybrids will have similar pleats near the base
Applanate vernation of G. reginae-olgae with faint pale stripe visible

Galanthus woronowii

Galanthus woronowii occurs as a native species in north-eastern Turkey and across the Caucasus region, extending into parts of Georgia and southern Russia. The species was named in 1935 by the Russian botanist A. S. Losina-Losinskaya in honour of the botanist and plant collector Georg Jurii Nikolaewitch Woronow (1874–1931). It was described from plants collected in southern Russia, near the town of Sochi on the eastern shores of the Black Sea.

In cultivation, G. woronowii is valued for its vivid green leaves and flowers, though it has long been confused with other green-leaved snowdrops in gardens and collections. Indeed, it is still occasionally sold by garden centres under the name G. ikariae – a considerably rarer species.

Although G. woronowii is not yet as widely grown as G. elwesii or G. nivalis, its popularity is increasing rapidly. It is also appearing more frequently as a garden escape or discard in many areas, as reflected in its distribution map. Somewhat surprisingly, it is now the snowdrop I encounter most often in the wild after the ubiquitous G. nivalis.

Identification

G. woronowii is a bulbous perennial with nodding white flowers in which the inner tepals bear a single green apical mark, distinguishing it from species with more extensive or multiple markings. The leaves are broad, glossy and bright green, emerging in a supervolute vernation – one leaf tightly wrapped around the other in bud and typically remaining clasped at the base as the plant develops.

Although similar in general appearance to G. ikariae and the much rarer G. platyphyllus, G. woronowii can usually be distinguished by its smaller, less extensive green markings on the inner tepals (an inverted V-shape rather than the “boxer shorts” marking of G. ikariae) and by its brighter green foliage. Careful observation of leaf texture and tepal shape can further aid in the separation of these species.

Wrapped leaf bases of G. woronowii
Broad, green, shiny leaves
Galanthus woronowii naturalised in woodland
Galanthus woronowii on a Newcastle verge

Notable Varieties

Thankfully, there are not too many forms of G. woronowii to contend with, although new cultivars and selections are beginning to appear for sale and may, in time, find their way across the garden fence. Two of the most popular currently are:

G. woronowii ‘Elizabeth Harrison’, the first yellow woronowii, notable for its bright yellow ovary

G. woronowii ‘Cider with Rosie’, which features a pale green horseshoe-shaped marking on the outer segments.

Confusion Species

Galanthus woronowii differs from G. ikariae in both its inner segment markings and leaf colour. In G. woronowii, the green mark on the inner segment is short and confined to the lower half of the segment, whereas in G. ikariae the mark is much larger, typically covering more than half the length of the segment. The leaves of G. woronowii are light to medium green and usually glossy or slightly shiny. By contrast, the leaves of G. ikariae are medium to dark green and generally matt.

A healthy clump of G. woronowii left to establish in a Newcastle park

Galanthus elwesii

Galanthus elwesii occurs in southeastern Europe, around the Black Sea, and across much of Turkey. It was first described in 1875 by Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, who named it after the plant collector, Henry John Elwes (1846–1922).

Galanthus elwesii is probably the most commonly cultivated species after G. nivalis, thanks to its long history in cultivation, adaptability and wide availability. It is an extremely variable plant, having been imported into Europe in large numbers over many years. Striking and attractive, it is robust, decorative, free-flowering and generally easy to grow – perhaps explaining its enduring popularity.

Alongside the common G. nivalis and a few much rarer species, G. elwesii is also one of the snowdrops most likely to be encountered in the wild in the UK, particularly in churchyards where original plantings have been left to naturalise over extended periods.

Identification

As far as snowdrops go, G. elwesii is relatively easy to recognise due to its size – it is far larger than the typical G. nivalis. It has broad, glaucous leaves (around 3.5 cm wide) with a hooded tip, large flowers, and bold markings on the inner segments. Its vernation is supervolute, with one leaf always clasped around the other at maturity.

The green markings on the inner petals are variable but generally fall into three broad types. Commonly, plants may display two separate marks on each segment, located at the apex and base. When this is the case, the apical mark is usually V-shaped, and the basal mark is typically rectangular. Other varieties have a single large mark spanning most of the petal; this mark is often X-shaped, making it quite distinctive. The third type frequently seen in cultivation has only a single V-shaped apical mark.

Wrapped leaf bases of G. elwesii
Big, broad, glaucous leaves and large flowers
G. elwesii var. elwesii
G. elwesii var. monostictus

Varieties

There are a great many cultivars of G. elwesii, as well as many hybrids with it as a parent. These are beyond the scope of this post, but fortunately, all retain some of the identification features described above. It is, however, helpful to assign your G. elwesii to a recognised variant when possible. The two you’re likely to spot are:

G. elwesii var. monostictus, which has a single apical green mark that rarely extends beyond half of the petal.

G. elwesii var. elwesii, which has either two green marks or a single large X-shaped mark on the inner petal.

Confusion Species

Galanthus gracilis, a rather rare species in cultivation, is somewhat similar to G. elwesii but displays applanate vernation and has narrow leaves, around 1 cm wide. Other than this, the main identification challenge comes from hybrids involving G. elwesii. One that appears from time to time is Galanthus × hybridus, the cross between G. elwesii and G. plicatus. This hybrid has leaves resembling G. elwesii but narrower, with shallow pleats along the margins – a feature inherited from G. plicatus.

A healthy clump of G. elwesii left to establish in a Newcastle park