Wednesday 15 May
Guest Blog: Join Our SOS! Campaign to Help Polar Bears with Polar Bears International

| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Phylum | Tracheophyta |
| Class | Liliopsida |
| Order | Liliales |
| Family | Amaryllidaceae |
| Genus | Galanthus (1) |
The snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) is an early flowering bulbous plant; the pure white blooms are a cheering sight in late winter (4). The narrow leaves are bluish-green in colour, and the leaf-tips are hardened in order to break through frozen ground (4). The solitary white flowers hang down loosely, and are enclosed by a papery sheath in the early stages of development (5). The segments of the perianth are petal-like; the outer 3 segments are 14 to 17 millimetres in length, while the inner 3 are typically half as long, and have a green patch at the tips (2).
This perennial plant flowers in February and March (6) and is pollinated by bees (1) (2). The snowdrop spreads mainly by division of the bulbs, and seed production is extremely poor, either because cross-pollination is rare as there are so few insects around in February, or because cultivated populations are usually sterile (4). However, some seeds are spread by ants which carry them through their underground tunnels, therefore helping with dispersal (1).
The pure white flowers have been accepted by the Christian church as symbols of Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary (2 February), and snowdrops are often typical sights in monastic grounds (4).
TopAlthough often thought to be a native species in some areas, the snowdrop is now believed to have been introduced to Britain, and has since become naturalised. It was growing in cultivation in 1597, but it was not until 1778 that it was recorded in the wild (6).
Outside of Britain, the snowdrop is known from the Pyrenees and northern Spain eastwards to the Ukraine and as far as Russia, and southwards from Germany and Poland to southern Italy, Albania and northern Greece. Introduced populations have naturalised further north than these areas (1) (2), including in the Netherlands (1).
The snowdrop has also been introduced to Canada and the United States (1).
TopThe delicate-looking snowdrop thrives in moist woodlands and other shaded areas, and is typically found in gardens, churchyards, parks, damp grassland, road verges and by watercourses (6).
This species occurs over a wide range of elevations, but the majority of populations are found below 900 metres above sea level (1).
TopThe snowdrop is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List (1) and is listed on Appendix II of CITES (3).
TopGalanthus is the most heavily traded wild-collected bulb genus in the world (1). Despite this entire genus being listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which restricts international trade (3), the snowdrop is still being harvested and traded on a local scale, posing a threat to its future survival (1).
Habitat destruction is an additional threat to the snowdrop, with climate change being likely to exacerbate this issue by contributing to the loss of suitable snowdrop micro-habitats (1).
At present, the snowdrop is classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, but due to the threats listed above, it could potentially qualify as Vulnerable in the near future. Several European countries have listed the snowdrop as Near Threatened, Vulnerable, or even Critically Endangered on their national Red Lists, including Germany, Switzerland and Bulgaria (1).
TopBeing listed under Appendix II of CITES, trade in wild specimens of the snowdrop is highly restricted. In addition, the need for harvesting wild populations has been diminished by nurseries selling stock that has been raised from selected reliable clones (1).
The snowdrop is also listed under Annex B of the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation (1) and on Annex V of the EC Habitats Directive, which means that the species is of community interest, and that collection from the wild may be subject to management measures (7).
Several protected areas throughout Europe currently cover part of the snowdrop’s range, including Massis del Montseny Nature Park in Spain, Ecrins National Park Buffer Zone in France, and Rila National Park in Bulgaria. The snowdrop is also found in several Ramsar wetland sites, including Wattenmeer and Unterer Niederrhein, Wadden Sea (1).
TopFor more information on British plants and their conservation, see:
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
arkive@wildscreen.org.uk
More »Related species
This species is featured in:
This species is affected by global climate
change. To learn about climate change
and the species that are affected,
visit our climate change pages.
Image credit
© Niall Benvie / naturepl.com
Nature Picture Library
5a Great George Street
Bristol
BS1 5RR
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 117 911 4675
Fax: +44 (0) 117 911 4699
info@naturepl.com
http://www.naturepl.com
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.