Species: Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis)
Family: Amaryllises (AMARYLLIDACEAE)
Category: Flowering Plants
Location: Widespread
A. Flowering Plants
More extensive information on flowering plants can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Amaryllises (AMARYLLIDACEAE)
These are mostly perennial geophytes with rhizomes or bulbs, often with large, colourful flowers.
C. Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis)
Snowdrops flower between January and March, often being escapees from gardens, sometimes being planted. In the cemetery, either of these may apply.
These are short, hardy, perennial plants that flower from bulbs, having single, white, nodding heads. The inner petals of the fully-open white flowers - which are shorter than the outer petals - have greenish markings. These flowers often form established drifts, although in the thin soil of Heene Cemetery they tend to appear as isolated plants.
Snowdrops are remarkable in being able to emerge through snow. They are often considered to symbolise hope as their arrival just before spring heralds a change of season.
Images
Snowdrop
Snowdrops flower between January and March, often being escapees from gardens, sometimes being planted. In the cemetery, either of these may apply.
(Photo credit: Angela Turner.)
