How do you recognise Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis)?

Leaf

Enrico Blasutto · CC BY-SA 3.0

Snowdrop

Galanthus nivalis

Also known as: Common snowdrop

Family: Amaryllidaceae

10 to 15 cm tall.

Open woodland, damp meadows and gardens, often naturalised in carpets; flowers from late winter.

Flowering: January to March

Part shade

Shade

Very hardy, to about -15 °C to -20 °C.

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

It is the very first flower of the French garden: its name comes from the fact that it can flower while snow is still on the ground, as early as January. Spring snowflake resembles snowdrop but flowers a little later and has tepals all of equal size (each marked with a small green or yellow spot at the tip), whereas snowdrop has 3 large plain white outer tepals and 3 small inner tepals marked with green. Also compare the flowering time: snowdrop is almost always the first of the two to flower.

🍃 Leaves

Narrow, linear, upright, blue-green leaves emerging from the ground at the same time as the flower.

🌸 Flowers

A single drooping, bell-shaped white flower per stem, made up of 3 large white outer tepals and 3 shorter inner tepals marked with green at the tip.

🍎 Fruits

Small green capsule containing seeds with a fleshy appendage favoured by ants, which disperse them.

🪵 Bark

Bulbous plant with no bark, short flowering stem 10-15 cm tall.

🗺️ Distribution

Found across much of France, more common in the east and south, widely planted elsewhere.

🐝 Value for pollinators

One of the first sources of nectar and pollen for bees and bumblebees emerging from hibernation.

✂️ Horticultural uses

Very widely planted in carpets under trees and in borders to announce spring; many garden varieties.

⚠️ Possible toxicity

Toxic if ingested: the bulb, and to a lesser extent the whole plant, contains alkaloids (lycorine, galantamine) causing nausea, vomiting and digestive upset.

⚠️ Look-alike species

Snowdrop

Galanthus nivalis

Spring snowflake

Leucojum vernum

Spring snowflake resembles snowdrop but flowers a little later and has tepals all of equal size (each marked with a small green or yellow spot at the tip), whereas snowdrop has 3 large plain white outer tepals and 3 small inner tepals marked with green. Also compare the flowering time: snowdrop is almost always the first of the two to flower.

🌿 Other Amaryllidaceae to discover

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.