Leucojum aestivum
{{short description|Species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Leucojum aestivum
| taxon = Leucojum aestivum
| image = Leucojum aestivum5.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| authority = L.
| synonyms = {{Species list
|Leucojum hernandezii|Cambess.
|Leucojum pulchellum|Salisb.
|Nivaria aestivalis|Moench
|Nivaria monadelphia|Medik.
|Polyanthemum aestivale|(Moench) Bubani
}}
| synonyms_ref = |
}}
Leucojum aestivum, commonly called the summer snowflake, giant snowflake, Loddon lily (see {{seclink|River Loddon|Loddon lily}}) and rarely snowbell and dewdrop among others,{{efn|Other older vernacular names include mountain snowdrop and summer snowdrop.}} is a plant species widely cultivated as an ornamental. It is native to most of Europe from Spain and Ireland to Ukraine, with the exception of Scandinavia, Russia, Belarus and the Baltic countries. It is also considered native to Turkey, Iran and the Caucasus. It is naturalized in Denmark, South Australia, New South Wales, Nova Scotia and much of the eastern United States.
Description
Leucojum aestivum is a perennial bulbous plant, generally {{cvt|35|–|60|cm|in|0}} tall, but some forms reach {{cvt|90|cm|in|0}}. Its leaves, which are well developed at the time of flowering, are strap-shaped, {{cvt|5|–|20|mm|in|1}} wide, reaching to about the same height as the flowers. The flowering stem (scape) is hollow and has wings with translucent margins. The pendant flowers appear in late spring and are borne in umbels of usually three to five, sometimes as many as seven. The flower stalks (pedicels) are of different lengths, {{cvt|25|–|70|mm|in|1}} long. The flowers are about {{cvt|3|–|4|cm|in|1}} in diameter and have six white tepals, each with a greenish mark just below the tip. The black seeds are {{cvt|5|–|7|mm|in|1}} long.
After flowering, the fruits develop flotation chambers but remain attached to the stem. In Britain, it has been recorded that flooding causes the stems to break and the fruits to be carried downstream and stranded in river debris or on flood-plains. The bulbs can also be transported during heavy floods and deposited on river banks.{{cite web |url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003870.pdf |title=Site name: Lodge Wood and Sandford Mill |accessdate=2017-03-08 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030647/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003870.pdf |archivedate=2016-03-04 |publisher=Natural England }}
File:Hairy-Footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes) on Spring Snowflake (Leucojum vernum).JPG|Flower bee (Anthophora plumipes) approaching flowers
File:Блатно кокиче в Балтата.jpg|Growing by water in Bulgaria
File:Feuchtwiese Cigoc.JPG|Growing in a damp meadow in Croatia
Taxonomy
Leucojum aestivum was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1759. The Latin specific epithet aestivum means "of the summer". Two subspecies have been recognized (sometimes as varieties rather than subspecies): the nominate L. aestivum subsp. aestivum and L. aestivum subsp. pulchellum. The latter has also been treated as a separate species, L. pulchellum. L. aestivum subsp. pulchellum is differentiated by its generally smaller dimensions. It has 1–5 flowers per stem compared to the 3–8 of subsp. aestivum and is restricted to swampy areas in the western Mediterranean. The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families does not recognize any infraspecific taxa.
Leucojum vernum, its close relative (and the only other species in the genus Leucojum), flowers in Spring.
Distribution and habitat
Leucojum aestivum is native to most of Europe, with the exception of Scandinavia, Russia, Belarus, and the Baltic Republics, and is also native to Turkey, the Caucasus, and Iran. It is naturalized in other parts of Europe, including Denmark, in South Australia, New South Wales, Nova Scotia, and much of the eastern United States. L. aestivum is found in damp places, such as wet meadows, swamps, and ditches.
Cultivation
Leucojum aestivum is cultivated as an ornamental plant for its flowers. It requires a damp position, growing well on clay soils, where it increases rapidly. The cultivar 'Gravetye Giant' is robust, growing to {{convert|90 |cm|in|abbr=on}} with up to eight flowers on each scape. It is named after Gravetye Manor, an Elizabethan manor house in West Sussex, England, the former home of the gardener William Robinson. 'Gravetye Giant' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 60 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | accessdate = 22 March 2018}} Another cultivar is 'Nancy Lindsay'. Shorter and more compact than 'Gravetye Giant' at {{cvt|50|–|60|cm|in|0}}, its flowers, 5–6 per stem, have tepals that are rounder and broader. It originated in a garden in southern France owned by Nancy Lindsay.
Toxicity
All species of Leucojum are poisonous, as the leaves and bulbs contain the toxic alkaloids lycorine and galantamine.
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist|refs=
{{Cite web |title=Leucojum aestivum|work=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=http://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=280491 |accessdate=2017-12-15}}
{{cite web |title=Search for Leucojum aestivum|work=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=http://wcsp.science.kew.org/home.do |accessdate=2017-12-15 }}
}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q159119}}
Category:Flora of Georgia (country)
Category:Plants described in 1759