The charming snow-white snowdrop is the first to please the eye with its truly winter severity and touching tenderness. Spring has not yet become a full-fledged mistress of its possessions and a white fluffy blanket covers the ground, and a small fragile flower is already fighting for a warm ray of sun. The legendary "Tears of Eve" remind us of Paradise Lost and fill our hearts with a vague sense of pristine beauty.
Growth area
Snowdrop, whose Latin name is "galanthus", which means "milky flower", belongs to the Amaryllis family, which includes eighteen species and two natural hybrids. A perennial herb with a bulbous root, the snowdrop appears in early spring and lives for no more than four weeks. The height of the stem reaches thirty centimeters, different subspecies differ in the shape and size of the corolla.
Snowdrops grow in the forests of Central and Southern Europe, as well as in Turkey and the shores of the Caspian and Black Seas. Flowers prefer areas exposed to sunlight, although they can grow in shade. However, they do not tolerate places near swamps or springs with stagnant water. They are not demanding on the composition of the soil, they withstand sub-zero temperatures with firmness. With a lack of moisture, flowering slows down, so in an artificial environment, Galanthus needs additional watering.
The plant has an elegant white corolla with three long outer petals and three short inner ones. At the very edge of the petals there are barely noticeable green spots. On a low flexible stem there are several narrow dark green or grayish leaves. Only one flower grows from one bulb of small diameter.
Popular varieties
Of the twelve types of snowdrop growing in the post-Soviet space, the most common are:
- Snowdrop Elvis. A species with rather large rounded flowers that grows in Asia Minor. The height of the stem can reach twenty centimeters. The leaves have a pleasant bluish tint.
- Snowdrop snow. The flowering period is the second half of March, it grows in wooded areas throughout Europe. It has a small corolla with a cut compared to other types. The height of the stem is from ten to fifteen centimeters, the leaves are pale green with a grayish tint.
- Snowdrop white. The most common species, with more than fifty subspecies and the longest flowering period. On the inside, the fragrant corolla is decorated with yellow spots. The length of the stem is on average ten centimeters, the gray, keel-shaped leaves from below are covered with a wax coating.
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Galanthus snow-white got its name in the first half of the 18th century from Karl Liney, the famous naturalist. In Europe, this type of snowdrop is also known as "snow earring", "snow-white bell", "snowflake". Regardless of the place of growth, it blooms equally bewitching - tightly compressed bracts effectively open as soon as the flower breaks out from under the snow.
Under the "red" protection
Being the first spring flower, the forest snowdrop suffers every year from the excessive manifestation of human love. Longing for the green charms of nature, people mercilessly pluck every single one of the specimens that come across, often not even leaving the bulbs. The "cleansing" of flowering islands reaches a special scale during the spring holidays.
Such a negligent attitude towards the plant world led to the fact that Galanthus quickly added to the list of endangered species. Now the flower is listed in the Red Book and is under state protection. Environmental legislation provides for liability for unauthorized actions that lead to the death of the snowdrop population.
The Red Book contains a detailed description of rare species of Galanthus, indicating the external structure and features of vegetative reproduction.
According to the provisions of the permanent Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, by the combined efforts of almost all countries of the world, active work is being carried out to restore the plant population and develop effective measures for its protection.
In the Red Book you can also find a description of the species and subspecies of the snowdrop, protected in a certain area. This may be a list of endangered plants of both a region and a particular country. The authorities may adopt resolutions of local and national importance. At the same time, it is possible to organize complex measures to save the population and expand the range of the plant.
Planting and reproduction
After flowering, the bulbs of Galanthus are underground at rest until autumn. And only by the second half of September they wake up in order to grow roots and bloom again in the spring. Visible growth and blooming of flowers lasts until the first foliage appears on the trees.
Snowdrop takes root well in loose soil with plenty of moisture. When planting in clay soil, a small amount of sand and organic fertilizer should be added. As soon as the galanthus begins to germinate, inorganic top dressings can be applied. It is not recommended to cut the leaves before they are completely dry.
Shortly after Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise, winter came. It lasted a long time, severe frosts reigned on the ground, and the cold ruthless snow spared absolutely no one. In the end, Eva could not stand it - and burst into tears. She cried not so much from pain and cold, but from regret about the mistake she had made and about the lost paradise. And then the Lord took pity on her - and turned her tears into the most delicate flowers of this world. This is how snowdrops appeared in the snow, signaling the arrival of spring.
The forest snowdrop has long been a symbol of spring, purity, youth and freshness, and also says that you need to rejoice in both the present and the future, and drive memories of failures from your heart - therefore, there is nothing surprising in the fact that these gentle, beautiful flowers are extremely popular.
Snowdrops, the first flowers of spring, or as the Greeks called them, galanthus (“milk flowers”) belong to the genus of perennial grasses of the Amaryllis family, are early small-bulbous plants and are listed in the Red Book.
In the wild, snowdrops grow in the forest: in the center and in the south of the European continent, there are many of them on the coast of the Black and Caspian Seas, as well as in Asia Minor. These flowers give preference to sunny areas, although they grow without problems in the shade, but they do not tolerate areas with stagnant water.
Appearance
Snowdrop flowers are white, have green spots from the very edge of the petals (plants of other colors are not snowdrops). The graceful bell-shaped shape of the galanthus is given by the structure of its petals: the flower has six petals, three of which are outer (longer), three are inner (short).
This flower has few leaves, the shape is narrow, flat, dark green or gray-green in color. Galanthus leaves are usually about 1 cm wide. The round bulb of the plant, from which only one flower grows, is small: about three centimeters in diameter.
Varieties
In total, there are 18 species and two natural hybrids of galanthus, most of which are listed in the Red Book. Twelve of them grow in the post-Soviet space (most of all in the Caucasus).
Three types of these plants are especially popular:
- White galanthus. White snowdrop (has more than 50 varieties) not only blooms before all its relatives, but also blooms the longest - about 30 days. These plants are of medium length - from 7 to 12 cm, its flowers are elegant, white, with a yellow spot inside, have a pleasant aroma.
- Snowdrops are snowy. Snowdrops are one of the most popular species of this plant, blooming in mid-late March, and growing in the forests of Europe. Height - from 10 to 15 cm, leaves are flat, gray-green in color from 0.4 to 1 cm wide, length - 10 cm. drooping bell, white with a green speck.
- Galanthus Elwes. Elwes snowdrops can be seen in the forests of Asia Minor, while they begin to bloom earlier than the snowdrop snowdrop and are larger in size. The height of the Elves snowdrop is from 15 to 25 m, the leaves are bluish-green, their width can rarely reach 2 cm, and the flowers of the snowdrop are white, large, spherical.
Plants of the Red Book
The forest snowdrop turned out to be a victim of human love, because after a harsh snowy winter, people who are hungry for greenery are not averse to bringing a bouquet of snowdrops home and decorating their apartment with them. They are plucked in vain - by this time the forest snowdrop had just appeared, it didn’t look special, because it hadn’t bloomed yet, and these flowers didn’t last long - just a few days.
If the forest snowdrop used to grow in many countries, now there are extremely few galanthus left, because people, picking them up to make a bouquet of snowdrops, also often spoil the bulb, completely rendering it unusable.
These plants are especially affected in early spring, during the spring holidays, when on March 8 women are presented with these delicate-looking flowers.
The forest snowdrop is listed in the Red Book as an endangered species, which means that picking and collecting it in the forest in order to form a bouquet of snowdrops is prohibited. At the same time, as long as there is demand, there will always be supply, and therefore, already at the end of spring, snowdrops picked in the forest are sold in large quantities on the streets and markets of both large and small cities.
When buying a forest snowdrop, you must always keep in mind that poachers thus receive a good income and a tangible incentive to find and dig snowdrops in the snow next year and bring them to the city (no fines prescribed by law frighten them, because the benefit is still greater).
greenhouse plants
If you really want to please yourself and your loved ones with galanthus and bring home a bouquet of snowdrops, you can buy plants grown in greenhouses (to make sure that the seller is not a scammer, just ask him for a certificate). Flower growers - this plant is grown with pleasure, because it is not very difficult to do this.
Flowers are not absolutely unpretentious: despite the fact that they tolerate changes in weather and temperature well, they are very demanding on the ground - therefore, flower growers for planting these flowers specially purchase a snowdrop greenhouse, ideal for installation in the ground or in a greenhouse (it prevents the soil from overcooling and creates optimal conditions for growing galanthus).
Before planting the bulbs, the soil is well fertilized with peat or humus. It is highly undesirable to plant these plants in the spring during the flowering period, since they rarely take root and almost always die. A snowdrop is transplanted into a greenhouse after the leaves of the flower die off (mid-summer), when the old roots of the snowdrops have already died out, and the new ones have not yet appeared.
Considering that dried bulbs take root hard (and they are sold mainly in this condition), they should be planted in the ground immediately after purchase to a depth of 6 to 8 cm. Flower growers recommend transplanting snowdrop plants every five to six years. Snowdrops grow well without a transplant and for a longer period.
These plants can also be planted with seeds - but in this case you will have to be patient: the seedlings will bloom at best in the third year. Seeds should be sown immediately after they are harvested, as they quickly become unusable and lose their germination capacity.
Hello dear friends! Spring! Spring is outside! Spring days! Nature is waking up from its winter sleep. The snow is slowly melting and March is already in a hurry to please us with the first beauty. Right from under the snow, the first spring flowers appear - snowdrops.
Of course, all of us, even small children, know that they exist. Many have seen them. But what do we know about them? I don't think so much. And so I propose today to learn as much as possible about snowdrops, so that you can tell your classmates later.
Lesson plan:
What kind of flowers?
So, snowdrops appear on the edges in forests and meadows, along river banks in March-April. They peek right out from under the snow. For which they got their beautiful name.
A strong stem pair of shiny green leaves and a white flower with a green border, like a hanging bell, are pleasing to the eye. They grow in large groups, not one flower at a time.
You can grow these delicate flowers in your garden or garden. The main thing is to provide them with suitable conditions. They love moist, nutritious soil that warms up in the sun.
In nature, there are about 18 types of snowdrops, for example:
- snow-white;
- Caucasian;
- Alpine;
- snowdrop Voronov and others.
They are common in Central and Southern Europe, in the Crimea, the Caucasus and Asia Minor. There are especially many snowdrops in the Caucasus, where you can meet representatives of 16 species of this plant.
The harbingers of spring bloom for 3-4 weeks, then the flower petals fall off, and in their place a round box with three compartments appears, in which black seeds are stored.
Beauty under threat
All types of snowdrops are protected by the Red Book of Russia. Therefore, they cannot be plucked and sold. But they tear it down and sell it. And if they sell, then they buy.
And we can help snowdrops survive. To do this, you just need to stop buying bouquets from merchants. After all, if there is no one to sell flowers to, then there is no need to pick them.
But flowers are threatened not only by pickers and sellers of bouquets. Other unfavorable factors are:
- deforestation, which reduces the area of \u200b\u200bflower growth;
- trampling and destroying the forest floor in which the bulbs hide;
- environmental problems (pollution of soil, water, air).
To date, the Red Book has assigned the third category to snowdrops.
This means that until they disappear. But they are found in limited areas and in small numbers. And if you do not take action, then soon we will no longer be able to admire these magnificent creatures.
Snowdrops in creativity
Snowdrops with their unusual fragile beauty inspired many people to create.
Poems
Here are some poems.
There are also funny, comic versions)
To some, these white flowers resemble the tears of the Snow Maiden.
And someone rich.
Paintings
In the painting by Pavel Eskov, white snowdrops bloomed among white birches, very beautiful)
There is still snow all around, but white flowers are already rejoicing on the thawed patch of spring, nodding merrily to the sun with their bells. The author of this picture is the artist Yuri Vladimirovich Sizonenko.
Nikolskaya Ekaterina Alexandrovna saw the first spring flowers like this. Very unusual)
Riddles
Try to ask your friends these interesting riddles)
Fairy tales
There are a lot of fairy tales about "snow drops". I'm sure you know one of them! This tale is called "Twelve Months". I suggest you watch it right now.
Snowdrops have something to surprise you with:
In general, there are many beautiful and interesting things in nature. I advise you to read an article about a hummingbird bird, and also about a seahorse.
That's all for today!
I wish you amazing spring discoveries!
Yours, Evgenia Klimkovich.
We - residents of big cities - quite often do not really know what this or that plant that lives in the wild looks like. After all, not everyone gets the opportunity to walk around the forest, meadows and fields for the purpose of self-education in this area.
But, for example, your little child, having heard the fairy tale "Twelve months", may ask you the question: "What does a snowdrop look like?" And you won’t be able to explain it to him properly, because you have never seen this beautiful spring flower live.
What does a snowdrop look like in early spring
Snowdrops are the heralds of spring, they appear from under the snow in late February - early March. They begin to bloom in April, but if the weather is warm, then earlier. The snowdrop plant is very delicate, fragile, its flowers are snow-white in color, and the tips of the petals are pale green.
This article has helped many gardeners stop overworking on their plot and at the same time get a generous harvest.
I would never have thought that in order to get the best harvest on my garden plot in my entire “dacha career”, I just need to stop overworking myself in the beds and trust nature. For as long as I can remember, every summer I spent in the country. First on the parent, and then my husband and I bought our own. From early spring to late autumn, all free time was spent on planting, weeding, tying, pruning, watering, harvesting and, finally, conservation and trying to save the crop until next year. And so in a circle...
Snowdrops grow up to about 15 cm, their leaves are dark green in color. The snowdrop belongs to perennial bulbous plants.
Where do snowdrops grow
Snowdrops grow under trees and shrubs. Quite often, not knowing what a snowdrop looks like, it is confused with a plant such as a white flower. The snowdrop differs from it in the number of inner petals with green tips: the snowdrop has three of them, and they are surrounded by three larger white petals.
Unfortunately, snowdrops have long been listed in the Red Book. There are not so many of them left, but people continue to pluck them instead of preserving this most delicate spring flower. Some species of snowdrops are on the verge of extinction.
And although snowdrops can stand plucked in the water for a very long time, it is still better to admire them in their natural growth, and not to exterminate this miracle of nature.
In Russian tradition, all the first spring flowers are called snowdrops. Although from a botanical point of view, only Galanthus (Galanthus) is considered a true snowdrop, but in different regions of our country, a variety of plants from completely different botanical families are known under this proud and sweet name.
Snowdrops in Russia are most often called anemones, or anemones (Anemone), liverworts (Hepatica), backache (Pulsatilla), blueberries (Scilla), cyclamens (Cyclamen) and helleborus (Helleborus). Almost all of these plants are protected by law, as they are often the subject of mass collection for commercial purposes, and in addition, they are severely affected by climate change and deforestation.
Scilla
In the forests of the European part of Russia, two types of forests can most often be found: Siberian and two-leaved. Siberian is the "blue snowdrop" familiar to many. It is very unpretentious and reproduces well by children and seeds, which are scattered around the area by ants. As a result, this plant forms magnificent blue carpets.
Scilla two-leaved has several small flowers with beautiful stamens on the peduncle. In gardens, it is less common, but in the mass is no less spectacular.
