Galanthophile

Last updated

A galanthophile is an enthusiastic collector and identifier of snowdrop ( Galanthus ) species and cultivars.

Contents

Term

The term galanthophile was probably coined by a noted British plantsman and garden writer E. A. Bowles (1865–1954), in a letter to his friend Oliver Wyatt, another keen collector of bulbs, whom he addressed as "Dear Galanthophil". Wyatt may have been the first to whom the term was applied, but he was by no means the first be one. Apart from Bowles himself, there had been keen snowdrop collectors since at least the mid-19th century. Many galanthophiles are recalled in names of snowdrop species or cultivars. Nurseryman James Atkins (1804–1884) of Northampton was one of the earliest so honoured, and the tall, early-flowering, robust Galanthus 'Atkinsii' is still grown, having been distributed widely by Canon Ellacombe of Bitton. [1]

Collectors

James Allen (1832–1906) of Shepton Mallet was probably the first to raise hybrid snowdrops from deliberate cross cultivation of seed. [2] He claimed in 1891 to have grown every known species of Galanthus and raised over 100 distinct seedlings, but much of his collection was lost to botrytis and narcissus fly soon afterward. At least two of his cultivars, G. 'Magnet' and G. 'Merlin', survive and are widely grown by collectors. He also raised hybrids which he called G. 'Galatea' and G. 'Robin Hood', but the plants now grown under those names may not be the same as those he selected. Galanthus x allenii is a hybrid of unknown origin that appeared in a batch of G. latifolius (now G. platyphyllus), which Allen received from an Austrian supplier in 1883. (According to Bishop et al., it is more likely that the bulbs were another broad-leaved species, G. woronowii, often confused with G. platyphyllus.) The bulbs were probably collected in the Caucasus, but G. × allenii has never been found in the wild since, so that no one can do more than speculate on where the cross occurred and what other species may have been involved. It is a handsome plant with broad, greenish-grey foliage and fairly large flowers, which smell of bitter almonds.

Margery Fish at East Lambrook Manor, Somerset, was another enthusiast and popularizer of Galanthus nivalis and its varieties in the 1950s and 1960s. [3]

Notable modern galanthophiles include the late Primrose Warburg (1920–1996), after whom G. 'Primrose Warburg' is named: appropriately, it has yellow markings and a yellow ovary. (Primrose ovaries are generally green.) She was married to the noted botanist E. F. Warburg. Several other fine snowdrops originated at her garden at South Hayes in Oxfordshire, including the unusual cultivar named G. 'South Hayes' which has strong green markings on the outer tepals of the flower.

Botanist Aaron Davis and gardeners Matt Bishop and John Grimshaw, authors of the works on which these notes are based, also qualify as galanthophiles.

Related Research Articles

<i>Galanthus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidacee

Galanthus, or snowdrop, is a small genus of approximately 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae. The plants have two linear leaves and a single small white drooping bell-shaped flower with six petal-like (petaloid) tepals in two circles (whorls). The smaller inner petals have green markings.

<i>Leucojum</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae

Leucojum is a small genus of bulbous plants native to Eurasia belonging to the Amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. As currently circumscribed, the genus includes only two known species, most former species having been moved into the genus Acis. Both genera are known as snowflakes.

Henry John Elwes English botanist and entomologist (1846–1922)

Henry John Elwes, FRS was a British botanist, entomologist, author, lepidopterist, collector and traveller who became renowned for collecting specimens of lilies during trips to the Himalaya and Korea. He was one of the first group of 60 people to receive the Victoria Medal of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1897. Author of Monograph of the Genus Lilium (1880), and The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland (1906–1913) with Augustine Henry, as well as numerous articles, he left a collection of 30,000 butterfly specimens to the Natural History Museum, including 11,370 specimens of Palaearctic butterflies.

<i>Galanthus nivalis</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae known as snowdrop

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 the snowflakes, in the genera Leucojum and Acis.

<i>Narcissus pseudonarcissus</i> Species of plant

Narcissus pseudonarcissus is a perennial flowering plant.

James Allen, known as the "Snowdrop King," was a nurseryman and galanthophile of Shepton Mallet, Somerset, United Kingdom, known principally for his hybridizations of snowdrops and anemones. He is credited with the discovery of Galanthus ×allenii (1883).

Edward Augustus Bowles

Edward Augustus Bowles was a British horticulturalist, plantsman and garden writer. He developed an important garden at Myddelton House, his lifelong home at Bulls Cross in Enfield, Middlesex and his name has been preserved in many varieties of plant. The standard author abbreviation Bowles is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

<i>Acis</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae

Acis is a genus of perennial, herbaceous and bulbous plants in the amaryllis family. The genus consists of nine species distributed in Europe and Northern Africa. Acis was previously included in Leucojum; both genera are known as snowflakes.

Scilla × allenii is a hybrid between two species of flowering plants, both of which are now placed in the genus Scilla. One of the parents is Scilla bifolia. As of March 2020, sources differ as to the identify of the other, which may be either Scilla forbesii or Scilla luciliae.

<i>Galanthus woronowii</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae

Galanthus woronowii, the green snowdrop or Woronow's snowdrop, is a bulbous plant native to north-east Turkey and the west and central Caucasus. In cultivation particularly, it has often been confused with two other species with broad green leaves and a single green mark on the inner tepals: Galanthus ikariae and Galanthus platyphyllus.

Sir Frederick Claude Stern was a botanist and horticulturalist, known for developing the gardens at Highdown, for creating several cultivars of garden plants and for his publications on peonies, snowdrops and gardening. He also tried to promote the interests of the Jewish community.

<i>Galanthus elwesii</i> species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae

Galanthus elwesii, Elwes's snowdrop or greater snowdrop, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to the Caucasus.

<i>Acis autumnalis</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae

Acis autumnalis, the autumn snowflake, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae. A short bulbous perennial, it is found on the western shores of the Mediterranean, from Portugal, Spain and Morocco to Sicily and Tunisia.

<i>Acis nicaeensis</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae

Acis nicaeensis, sometimes called the French snowflake, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to south-eastern France. A small spring flowering bulb with white flowers, it is cultivated as an ornamental plant.

<i>Acis valentina</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae

Acis valentina is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to eastern Spain. Its white flowers appear in autumn. It can be grown as an ornamental bulb, but may need protection from hard frost.

<i>Acis rosea</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae

Acis rosea, known as the rose snowflake, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to Corsica and Sardinia. Unlike most members of the genus Acis, it has pink rather than white flowers. It is grown as an ornamental plant but requires protection from frost.

<i>Galanthus reginae-olgae</i> species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae

Galanthus reginae-olgae, Queen Olga's snowdrop, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to Sicily and the west and north-west Balkans. Some variants produce their pendant white flowers in autumn, others in winter and early spring. It is cultivated as ornamental bulbous plant, preferring warmer situations in the garden than other species of Galanthus (snowdrops).

<i>Galanthus plicatus</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae

Galanthus plicatus, the pleated snowdrop, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to eastern Europe and western Asia. It is a spring flowering bulbous herbaceous perennial.

Platon Sergeevich Panjutin was a Russian chemist, botanist, naturalist, and mountain climber. He collected botanical specimens in the southern part of the Caucasus Mountains in Abkhazia.

Panjutin was a chemist by education, but his love of nature made botany his second specialty; he became a great researcher and herbarium collector of the flora of Abkhazia.

References

  1. ↑ Stern, F. C. (1956). Snowdrops and Snowflakes – A study of the genera Galanthus and Leucojum. Royal Horticultural Society. p. 65.
  2. ↑ Freda Cox, (2013), Gardener's Guide to Snowdrops, Crowood. p. 288, ISBN   9781847975621.
  3. ↑ Val Bourne: Snowdrops: white magic. The Telegraph, 4 January 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2012.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.