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Leucojum vernum
Spring snowflake is a small bulbous perennial with white, bell-like flowers in early spring, grown in sun or partial shade in moist soil or grass. It is easy to grow and spreads into clumps over time.
Leucojum vernum, commonly called the spring snowflake, St. Agnes' flower (for the patron saint of virgins), and rarely snowbell among others, 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.
The Latin specific epithet vernum means "relating to Spring"; its close relative, Leucojum aestivum, flowers in summer.
Leucojum vernum is cultivated as an ornamental plant for its white flowers in spring. It is described as "easy to grow", either in sun or partial shade, particularly in moist soil and in grass. The species has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
All species of Leucojum are poisonous as they contain the alkaloids lycorine and galantamine.
Leucojum vernum is native to central Europe and parts of southern and western Europe, including Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, France, Italy, Romania, former Yugoslavia and Ukraine. It has become naturalized in other parts of Europe, including Great Britain, the Netherlands and parts of Scandinavia, and in Georgia and Florida in the United States. It is found in damp and shady habitats, including woods, up to elevations of 1,600 m (5,200 ft).
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Leucojum vernum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
