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Snowflake (plant) |
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 Summer Snowflake (Leucojum aestivum)
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Spring Snowflake (Leucojum vernum) and Summer Snowflake or Loddon Lily (Leucojum aestivum) are bulbous plants belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family. They are the only species currently classified in the genus Leucojum.
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The snowflakes are native to southern Europe, from the Pyrenées to Romania and western Russia, but they have been introduced and have naturalized in many other areas, including the east coast of North America. They have narrow, strap-like, dark green leaves. The flowers are small and bell-shaped, white with a green (or occasionally yellow) spot at the end of each tepal. They have a slight fragrance.
The Spring Snowflake normally grows 15-20 cm tall (6-8 in), though it may reach up to 35 cm (14 in). It flowers from March to May (as soon as the snow melts in its wild habitat). Two varieties of Leucojum vernum are known: L. vernum var. carpathicum originates from the eastern part of its natural range and is a larger plant with yellowish spots on its tepals rather than green; 'vagneri' from Hungary is a robust variant of var. vernum, often with two flowers per stem.
The Summer Snowflake has a wider natural range, taking in Europe, southwest Asia and northern Iran, and growing in wetter habitats including damp woodland, riversides and swamps. Despite its common name it also flowers from March to May, though slightly later than the Spring Snowflake. It is a taller plant than Leucojum vernum, growing to around 60 cm (2 ft), but its flowers are smaller and are carried in an umbel of between three and seven. Its fleshy seed pods are inflated, allowing them to be dispersed by flood water.
 Summer Snowflake (Leucojum aestivum) |
 Spring Snowflake (Leucojum vernum) |
 Flower of var. carpathicum |
Leucojum aestivum 'Gravetye Giant' is a selected cultivar with larger flowers. It is named after Gravetye Manor, an Elizabethan manor house in West Sussex, England, the home of the influential garden writer William Robinson from 1884 until his death in 1935. The house is now a hotel.
Leucojum vernum ‘Podpolozje’ is a robust cultivar which combines the properties of var. carpathicum with that of the variant ‘vagneri’, i.e., two flowers per stem and yellowish spots on its tepals.
Eight former members of the genus, characterised by their narrow leaves, solid stems and unmarked flowers, have recently (July 2004) been reclassified as genus Acis.
The Acis species prefer drier soils than Leucojum species. Three of them are autumn-flowering: Acis autumnalis, Acis rosea and Acis valentina.
Former species of Leucojum (now reclassified as Acis)
 Acis autumnalis |
 Acis fabrei |
 Acis longifolia |
 Acis nicaeensis |
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