Galanthus woronowii

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Galanthus woronowii
Galanthus woronowii closeup cropped.jpg
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily: Amaryllidoideae
Genus: Galanthus
Species:
G. woronowii
Binomial name
Galanthus woronowii
Losinsk. [2]

Galanthus woronowii, the green snowdrop [3] or Woronow's snowdrop, is a bulbous plant native to north-east Turkey and the west and central Caucasus. [2] 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 (usually under its synonym G. latifolius).

Contents

Description

Galanthus woronowii grows from a bulb. The leaves are "supervolute", i.e. one leaf is tightly clasped around the other within the bud, usually remaining like this at the base of the plant as it grows. The leaves are generally 13–25 cm (5–10 in) long, sometimes up to 41 cm (16 in), and around 13–21 mm (0.5–0.8 in) wide, although they may be narrower or wider. The leaf narrows at the base with widest part of the leaf in the upper third. The leaf is light to medium green; the lower surface is somewhat more shiny than the upper. The midrib of the leaf is prominent; there are also often two to four visible fold marks running along the length of the leaf.

The usually solitary flowers are born on a leafless green stem (scape), 4–19 cm (1.6–7.5 in) long. The pedicel (stalk) of the flower is 15–26 mm (0.6–1.0 in) long. The outer three tepals are considerably longer than the inner three, usually about 16–24 mm (0.6–0.9 in) long compared to 7–12 mm (0.3–0.5 in). Since the flower hangs downwards, the apex of the tepals is at the lowest point. The apex of the inner tepals has a "sinus" (i.e. it has a notch in the middle). There is a green mark around the sinus, either U-shaped or split into two parts on either side. The seed capsule is green, more or less spherical with brown seeds about 5 mm (0.2 in) long. [4]

Taxonomy

Galanthus woronowii was first described in 1935 by the Russian botanist Agnia Losina-Losinskaja. The specific epithet commemorates the botanist and plant collector Yury Nikolaevich Voronov. [4]

Particularly in cultivation, it has frequently been confused with two other species, Galanthus platyphyllus (usually under its synonym G. latifolius) and Galanthus ikariae . All three species have broad green leaves arranged in a supervolute pattern (i.e. wrapped round one another at the base), and inner tepals with a green mark only at the apex. The inner tepals of G. platyphyllus lack a sinus at the apex, i.e. they do not have a notched edge. [4] G. ikariae and G. woronowii are similar, although molecular studies have shown that they are distinct species. Some differences are: [5]

Cultivation

Galanthus woronowii [6] has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

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.

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

<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>Nepenthes andamana</i> Species of pitcher plant from Thailand

Nepenthes andamana is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Phang Nga Province, Thailand, where it grows near sea level in coastal savannah and grassland. It is thought to be most closely related to N. suratensis.

<i>Nepenthes suratensis</i> Species of pitcher plant from Thailand

Nepenthes suratensis is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Surat Thani Province, Thailand, where it grows near sea level in coastal savannah and grassland. It is thought to be most closely related to N. andamana.

<i>Litsea glaucescens</i> Species of shrub

Litsea glaucescens, also called Mexican bay leaf, is an evergreen tree or shrub 3–6 metres (9.8–19.7 ft) high in the genus Litsea belonging to family Lauraceae. It is native from southern North America, mostly in Mexico. Distributed by Mexico and Central America.

<i>Babiana ambigua</i> Species of flowering plant

Babiana ambigua is a species of plant in the Iridaceae. It is endemic to the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is a geophyte, that appears from an underground corm every year and grows to a height of 5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in) or occasionally up to 16 cm (6.3 in). Its leaves are pleated, hairy, lance-shaped, reaching higher than the inflorescence. The fragrant, mirror-symmetric, blue to mauve flowers, consist of six tepals merged into a tube at their base, but with free lobes at the top. The lower lateral tepals have whitish markings accentuated by a more intense blue line along their margin. Each flower is supported by two green bracts sometimes with a brownish tip, and the inner bract is divided entirely to its base. There are three anthers crowded to the dorsal side of the perianth and a style divided in three branches on top of a smooth ovary. Flowers can be found from late July at sea level to the end of September at high altitude.

Hannonia is a genus of plants in the Amaryllis family. It contains only one known species, Hannonia hesperidum, endemic to Morocco and confined to Western Morocco, Promontory of Hercules. The specific name comes from Greek έσπερος, of evening, as the flowers open in the late afternoon.

<i>Leucojum vernum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae

Leucojum vernum, called the spring snowflake, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae. It is native to central and southern Europe from Belgium to Ukraine. It is considered naturalized in north-western Europe, including Great Britain and parts of Scandinavia, and in the US states of Georgia and Florida. This spring flowering bulbous herbaceous perennial is cultivated as an ornamental for a sunny position. The plant multiplies in favourable conditions to form clumps. Each plant bears a single white flower with greenish marks near the tip of the tepal, on a stem about 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) tall, occasionally more.

Iris grossheimii is a plant species in the genus Iris, subgenus Iris and section Oncocyclus. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from the Caucasus mountains of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. It has sickle shaped leaves, which are as long as the short stem, which carries one flower in spring. It is beige, pink or brown covered in dark lines that are, purple-brown or brown. It has a large blackish brown signal patch and brown or black beard. It is rarely cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions, as it needs very dry conditions during the summer.

<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 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 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.

<i>Babiana vanzijliae</i> Species of flowering plant

Babiana vanzijliae is a species of geophyte of 4–12 cm (1.6–4.7 in) high that is assigned to the family Iridaceae. It has leaves that consist of a sheath and a blade that are at an angle with each other. The leaf blades are narrow, sword- to lance-shaped and have a left and right surface, rather than an upper and lower surface. The leaf blades are pleated and covered in velvety hairs. The inflorescence contains three to five pale bluish mauve to yellow flowers, but the lower lateral tepals are yellow becoming pale around the edges, and with three stamens crowding under the upper lip. Flowering occurs from early August to the middle of September. The flowers emit a strong scent. B. vanzijliae grows along the Bokkeveld Escarpment near Nieuwoudtville in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.

<i>Babiana villosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Babiana villosa is a species of geophyte of 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) high that is assigned to the family Iridaceae. It has mauve-pink, purple or scarlet star-symmetrical wide chalice-shaped flowers with narrow tube, large, blackish or dark purple anthers, and velvety hairy, lance-shaped, laterally compressed leaves, set in a fan. Flowers occur during August and September. It grows between Malmesbury and Wellington in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is commonly called red babiana in English and rooibobbejaantjie in Afrikaans.

<i>Galanthus alpinus <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> alpinus</i> Species of flowering plant

Galanthus alpinus var. alpinus, also known as the Caucasian snowdrop, is a variety of flowering plant within the subfamily Amaryllidoideae.

<i>Galanthus lagodechianus</i> Species of flowering plant

Galanthus lagodechianus is a species of snowdrop in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to Armenia, Azerbaijan, east Georgia and the Russian Federation.

References

  1. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  2. 1 2 "Galanthus woronowii", World Checklist of Selected Plant Families , Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , retrieved 2014-05-13
  3. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  4. 1 2 3 "Galanthus woronowii Losinsk.", CITES Bulbs, retrieved 2014-05-13 (Voronov's name is transcribed here as "Georg Jurii Nikolaewitch Woronow".)
  5. "Galanthus ikariae", The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, retrieved 2014-05-13
  6. "RHS Plant Selector – Galanthus woronowii" . Retrieved 5 July 2020.