Snowdrops: species, how they look, where they grow when they appear

With the advent of spring, tender forest primroses, snowdrops, bloom in the forest glades. They bring great joy to everyone who sees their flowering. Around these flowers are collected many interesting legends and myths.

Description of the types of snowdrops

All the variety of snowdrops can be grown in the garden as decorative flowers. They differ in terms of flowering, leaf color, corolla structure, but all are easily recognizable and have common features.

A brief description of some varieties of what snowdrops look like:

• Alpinus. Grows in spacious Transcaucasian meadows. Dark emerald leaves have a broad-lanceolate shape, the perianth is snow-white, the outer petals are 20 mm long and the inner petals are 10 mm long.
• Bortkewitschianus is a resident of the North Caucasus deciduous forests, similar to an alpine fellow, but the flowers are slightly smaller.
• Byzantinus. His homeland is the Bosphorus coast. It features late autumn flowering.
• Caucasicus. It grows in the Stavropol Territory and the Transcaucasian region. White fragrant flowers are relatively large (25 mm long). Grown in gardens since the end of the 19th century.
• Cilicicus. Dark emerald, matte shade of leaves without silver coating, up to 160 mm long and up to 10 mm wide. Outer perianth petals about 20 mm, inner two times shorter. It blooms in the last decade of winter.
• Corcyrensis. It blooms in late autumn, leaf plates grow at the same time as flowers.
• Elwesii. Tall species found in Ukrainian and Moldovan forests. Peduncles can grow up to 250 mm in height. Flowering lasts 1 month. Gardeners cultivate more than a dozen varieties of this species.
• Fosteri The heat-loving variety, popular in Western European countries, can grow only in greenhouse conditions.
• Graecus Medicinal plant.It blooms in April days, has a small peduncle height (about 90 mm). Leaves up to 70 mm long.
• Ikariae. In the open ground is not grown, blooms for 2 weeks in the spring. Peduncles up to 200 mm in height, the length of the outer petals of the perianth up to 25 mm.
• Krasnovii. The leaves are bright emerald, slightly curled. It blooms in the first half of spring.
• Lagodechianus. Blooms in the first half of spring for 20 days. Leaves are bright emerald, about 200 mm long during flowering. Peduncle up to 100 mm high.
• Nivalis is a snow-white snowdrop. The most popular species in floriculture, on the basis of which many varieties are bred. Single flowers up to 30 mm in diameter smell pleasantly. They bloom in late March and bloom for about a month.
• Plathyphyllus. Suitable for the northern zone, blooms in the first summer days. The bulb is large, oblong, 50 mm long and 30 mm in diameter.
• Plicatus The largest representative of the genus, flowers reach 40 mm in diameter and 30 mm in length. It blooms in March. It has several decorative varieties, among which there are terry.
• Galanthus reginae-olgae. It blooms in autumn, leaves begin to grow only after flowering.
• Transcaucasicus. It grows from April to June, blooms in April. Bulbs are small, 20 mm long and 15 mm in diameter.
• Woronowii - galanthus Voronova. It blooms in the last winter days. The plant is low, leaves 160 mm long, after flowering - up to 220 mm.

In a natural undergrowth, plants grown from seeds bloom in their sixth year of life.

The flower arrow begins to grow from the bud at the top of the leaf. Seedlings sprout around the mother plant. Primroses perfectly reproduce vegetatively with the help of subordinate shoots.

Where the flowers grow

Snowdrops grow in undergrowth, in forest glades, alpine meadows, in sparse shrubs, foothills and mountains.

Since time immemorial, these flowers have been grown in gardens, next to people's homes. In England, there is even a belief that by planting these white flowers around the house, you can protect it from evil spirits and evil spirits.

Under natural conditions, flowers grow in groups of 5 to 20 plants, sometimes form dense thickets, where about 200 specimens can be placed on 1 square meter.

When snowdrops appear

Beautiful snowdrops bloom in spring or autumn, it depends on the species.

Most often, delicate white flowers appear in March or April directly from under the snow and please with their flowering for 2 or 3 weeks.

There are exceptions. For example, a broadleaf snowdrop blooms in mid-summer. In nature, the place of its growth is the subalpine and alpine belt of the western part of the Caucasus Range. And the thermophilic Corfan primrose, whose homeland is Sicily and the islands of Corfu, blooms in late autumn, in November.

Myths and legends associated with flowers

There are many beautiful myths and legends about snowdrops. One of them talks about how this flower became the personification of hope and comfort.

• Once upon a time, the first people were expelled from paradise. In the Garden of Eden, where they used to live, it was always warm, and on the Earth, beyond its borders, winter reigned. Adam and Eve wandered through the snowy forest, not knowing where to go, and what to do. Eve felt cold, and she cried. God turned several snowflakes for her into beautiful white flowers with a delicate aroma. Eve was glad to see them, the hope of salvation settled in her heart.
• A Russian folk tale about white primroses tells that once upon a time spring did not come. All living things fell asleep in a long winter dream that could never end. Evil Winter, together with his aides, Frost and Blizzard decided to no longer allow Spring to land. Only the snowdrop was not afraid of the threats of Winter, he showed his delicate flowers directly from under the thorny snowdrift. The sun was admired by a beautiful flower and warmed the earth with its rays, opening the way to Spring.
• There is an eerie legend, according to which all visitors to the palace of Lord Baconfield in England are welcomed by his ghost with a white snowdrop in his buttonhole.Wearing a snowdrop in a buttonhole became fashionable among British officers during the Crimean War. For a long time, the flower became a symbol of the military and a detail of the uniform.

Why snowdrops are listed in the Red Book

Wonderful flowers are collected in the spring snowdrops for bouquets. Bulbs are dug up or trampled, so there is a ban on the sale of snowdrops collected in nature.

Those who sell these flowers in the market must have documents confirming that the plants are grown in a greenhouse.

All species are endangered. Environmentalists urge not to buy flowers from poachers on holiday to stop their destruction.

When snowdrop day is celebrated

Snowdrop Day is celebrated annually on April 19th. The tradition of the celebration appeared in the UK, it was readily adopted by other countries. The holiday serves as a reminder that these delicate flowers are endangered in nature.

These flowers in the UK are as beloved as tulips in Holland. The Latin name Galanthus, or galanthus, in translation means "milk", which indicates the color of the bud - all of the many species and varieties are painted in a snow-white color.

The date of the celebration was chosen for a reason. On this April day, the talented English writer Disraeli died, whose favorite colors were snowdrops.

The British are trembling with white primroses. They are considered a symbol of hope, innocence and a talisman from evil spirits. To protect their homes they are planted in the garden or in flower pots on window sills.