Genus: a category used in taxonomy, which is below ‘family’ and above ‘species’. A genus tends to contain species that have characteristics in common. The genus forms the first part of a ‘binomial’ Latin species name; the second part is the specific name.
Inflorescence: the reproductive shoot of the plant, which bears flowers (See http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ksheets/pdfs/flower.pdf for a fact sheet on flower structure)
Perennial: plants that live for at least three seasons; after an initial period they produce flowers once a year.
Davis, A.P. (2001) The Genus Galanthus Snowdrops in the Wild, pp. 9-63. In: Bishop, M., Davis, A.P. & Grimshaw, J. Snowdrops: A Monograph of Cultivated Galanthus. Griffin Press, Maidenhead.
Davis, A.P. (September, 2002) Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Pers. comm.