Thread by @BrambleBotanist

My fav winter botanising is seeking strange snowdrops. Ergo, a thread on variation in wild Galanthus nivalis.. First up standard nivalis: Your basic snowdrop of woods, waysides& riverbanks. No intro required, other than to say it’s v variable in size & vigour #wildflowerhour 1/10

G. nivalis fm pleniflorus a common double form; it has multiple inner& often outer tepals in varying lengths& neatness. Its only partially fertile - able to provide a reduced amount of pollen, but not seed; consequently it always grows with standard nivalis where naturalised 2/10

In certain parts of northern England nivalis pops throw out 3 distinct forms at c.1 in 10000 plants - deep recessive genes. The best known is var sandersii, the Yellow Snowdrops of Northumberland. Similar plants (perhaps even more colourful) are found in the Low Countries 3/10

Yellows are much more sporadic elsewhere in the country e.g. ‘Norfolk Blonde’ which popped up in Norfolk. A ghostly pale yellow with matching pallid leaves; more like yellow snowdrops of Eastern Europe than those of northern England. Cream-flowers are v rarely encountered 4/10

The second northern group is the beautiful poculiforms in which the inner tepals more or less resemble the outer tepals in shape (and often with reduced/absent green marks) 5/10

The third northern group is the ‘spikies’; double, greenish, clawed and entirely sterile. They are often vigorously patch forming. 6/10

In S England other green vars may be found.. var Viridapice is pretty much the same as standard nivalis (with similar variation in size& vigour) but with some green on the tips of the outer tepals. Some have a strongly curved spathe. ‘Warei’ is a chunky triploid Viridapice. 7/10

Green Snowdrops var virescens are very rarely encountered (or perhaps they’re just snaffled for gardens when they are - they are incredibly beautiful things). In this group the green colour flushes across a large part of the outer tepals, perhaps concentrated on the veins. 8/10

Scharlockii or ‘donkey ear’ snowdrops have split leafy spathes (usually 2, rarely 3). They tend to have modest green marked flowers which open facing the sky. No GB records but included here as they were found in the Rhine valley and they (or their genes) could escape 9/10

That’s the core groups& snowdrops make minor mutants too (like this weirdo found this week). I’m tempted to look into the genetic background, history& conservation statuses of all the above. If anyone has an interesting wild snowdrop they’d like looking at tweet it below. 10/10