An Introduction to Snowdrops

A snowdrop belongs to the genus Galanthus which is made up of the Greek words gala meaning milk and anthos meaning flower. They must be one of the most easily recognised plants grown in the garden. The plant flowers at a time when there are few other plants flowering in the garden. Others that appear at snowdrop time are Hellebores and Hamamelis - the Witch Hazel.

A snowdrop has a bulb which is made up of swollen leaf bases attached to a basal plate. The bulb has a papery tunic wrapped around it made up of dried remains of old leaf bases. The bulb is never truly dormant as the bulb is always working on next year’s flowers and leaves. Snowdrops need a moist environment so they won’t dry out during this important time. When snowdrops are lifted for division during March the bulbs are quite soft because all the food reserves have been used to produce the current growth. By the time the leaves have withered the bulbs will be plump and ready for next year. New roots actually start into growth during autumn as temperatures fall. These roots are fragile and don’t re-grow if damaged the same way that herbaceous plants are able to do. During under ground growth the new leaves and flowers are enclosed in a ‘skin’ called a sheath which protects the growing parts as they push up through the soil. The leaves have a hardened knob on the tips which help the process. Bubils grow from the side of the basal plate and in a few years are capable of flowering for themselves.

Snowdrop leaves grow with the flower in the centre and come in 3 forms. The leaves can be supervolute, applanate or explicative. When the leaves are supervolute one leaf emerges totally wrapped around the other. Applanate leaves emerge held flat and explicate leaves have their edges rolled backwards. In each case the upper surface of the leaves face each other. To see examples of these three forms click here

 

The flowers of a snowdrop are held at the end of a stem called a scape and are attached to the scape by a pedicel. The flower is made up of  3 outer petals and 3 inner petals. The inner petals are half the size of the outer ones but this can vary e.g. the Poculiformis Group where the inner petals are the same lenghth as the outers and usually lack the green markings. Double forms usually have 4-5 outer petals and up to 20 inner petals. Although most people think that a snowdrop is all white the flowers actually have a green mark on the inner petal. This can vary from 2 small ticks to covering the whole petal. The shape can be an inverted V or U or a heart. The inner side of the inner petal has green lines along their length.

Each bulb produces only one flowering stem but Galanthus plicatus can sometimes have 2. The flower emerges from the bulb enclosed in a clear skin called a spathe. The flower breaks through the skin as it matures. On warm days, around 10c/50F, the outer petals are held open and can rise to be horizontal. This action is to attract insects that have become active so the flower will be pollinated. The green markings on the inner petals possibly glow in ultraviolet light to draw in the pollinators like queen bumblebees. On warm days snowdrops give off a scent which is similar to that of honey.