Taken from wikipedia's page at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G...

"Galanthus nivalis, the snowdrop or common snowdrop, is the best-known and most widespread of the 20 species in its genus, Galanthus. Snowdrops are among the first bulbs to bloom in spring and can form impressive carpets of white in areas where they are native or have been naturalised.

They should not be confused with snowflakes (Leucojum and Acis.)

Galanthus nivalis is widely grown in gardens, particularly in northern Europe, and is widely naturalised in woodlands in the regions where it is grown. It is, however, native to a large area of Europe, from Spain in the west, eastwards to the Ukraine. It is found in Albania, Armenia, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the former Yugoslavia.

Galanthus nivalis grows to around 2.75 - 6 inches tall (7 -15 cm), flowering between January and April in the northern temperate zone (January–May in the wild). They are perennial, herbaceous plants which grow from bulbs. Each bulb generally produces two linear, or very narrowly lanceolate, greyish-green leaves and an erect, leafless scape (flowering stalk), which bears at the top a pair of bract-like spathe valves joined by a papery membrane. From between them emerges a solitary, pendulous, bell-shaped white flower, held on a slender pedicel.

The flower consists of six tepals, also referred to as segments. The outer three are larger and more convex than the inner ones. The inner flower segments are usually marked on their outer surface with a green, or greenish-yellow, V or U-shaped mark (sometimes described as "bridge-shaped") over the small "sinus" (notch) at the tip of each tepal. The inner surface has a faint green mark covering all or most of it. Occasionally plants are found with green markings on the outer surface of the outer tepals.

The six long, pointed anthers open by pores or short slits. The ovary is three-celled, ripening into a three-celled capsule. Each whitish seed has a small, fleshy tail (the elaiosome) containing substances attractive to ants which distribute the seeds. The leaves die back a few weeks after the flowers have faded."

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I love these precious and beautiful little gems! They're wonderful to see in the late winter - early spring when not much else is blooming! They always put a smile on my face and in my heart when I see them blooming in my garden every year!

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Valuable source of nectar and pollen for honey bees

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