Galanthus May 2011

[Anthony Darby]

Here is Galanthus corcyrensis flowering now, with grateful thanks to Bill Dijk. Who said snowdrops don't flower in May?

[Lesley Cox]

Oh dear, Galanthophilia strikes again, this time in the south! I'm happy though Anthony, that you have been able to start a Galanthus collection. Just don't get obsessive about it.   Mine is also out but I have it as G. reginae-olgae. Are they the same thing?

[Anthony Darby]

Possibly Lesley? One is supposed to flower with leaves, the other without.

[Oakwood]

Anthony, is it the latest to bloom spring-flowering form of corcyrensis (reginae-olgae s.l.) OR it is the earliest one of fall-flowering???
ahhhhh, just noted, you're from NZ))))

[Anthony Darby]

Definitely an autumn flowerer, although it's still summer here!

[Lesley Cox]

Yes autumn flowering for me too, also in New Zealand. Difficult to tell about the leaves as they're almost there but perhaps not quite, or just starting. I'll take pictures when the day warms a little (Ok, so I'm not in Auckland and the thermometer says it's 7C outside at present.) One I've had for years as corcyrensis but was told by someone is reginae-olgae and the other I was given recently as reg. olgae. They appear to be identical. Don't know if it helps but the recent one came originally from Mary Evans at Ashburton who had many of her bulbs direct from Paul Furse collections.

In "The Genus Galanthus," Davis describes the foliage as being absent, just emergent or only partially developed at flowering. He mentions corcyrensis as a supspecies but says he doesn't recognise it as the two are not sufficiently different, so I'll go with reginae-olgae for mine.

One thing often forgotten when trying to identify species growing in this part of the world, is that they frequently grow a little differently from in the northern hemisphere, especially in their native habitats. An old friend who is no longer alive but who had a very good little alpine nursery, said that her Narcissus species were always taller than in "the books." A Galanthus which flowers without leave, or a crocus for that matter, may have at least the beginnings of leaves in our warmer climate. That could especially apply in Auckland, even more than down in the south.

[Martin Baxendale]

Corcyrensis was the name for the autumn flowering snowdrops found in Corfu and Sicily. The collected forms that predominated in cultivation in the UK had short leaves at flowering time, while the predominant collected reginae olgae forms from elsewhere (Greece etc) tended to have no leaves at flowering time. But field studies have shown that whether there are leaves present at flowering time or nor varies in the Corfu and Sicily populations and in other wild reginae olgae populations, so it's not a good distinguishing feature to justify splitting into sub-species. All (except for the Turkish peshmenii) are now strictly speaking reginae olgae.

[Lesley Cox]

Definitely an autumn flowerer, although it's still summer here!

He speaks in jest of course, even if in English!

[Anthony Darby]

23^oC and sunny here today. That's summer in my book! I took Heidi for a walk at 6.15 this morning and it was 18^oC. Why couldn't the courier deliver my webcam this morning when I had to be up an hour earlier instead of ringing the doorbell yesterday morning at 6.35? Today the courier delivered a packet of Narcissus "Polly's Pearl" from Bill Dijk. Big as shallots they were!

[Hans J]

Martin ,

On Sicily grows not any autumn flowering snowdrops - G.corcyrensis comes only from Corfu .
The name G.corcyrensis is after the greek name of this island : Kerkyra

I have visit Sicily two times and I found flowering snowdrops near the coast on end of December -begin of January - the same plants grows also in the mts. of Sicily - they flower in Februar - March ...so this plants are G.reginae olgae ssp. vernalis - the same plants grows also on the mainland of Italy ( Calabria + Apulia ) and in Montenegro ( ex Jugoslavia )

Also I have visit Corfu and I saw there several populations of G.corcyrensis -they start with flowers from end of September - November ...they are shure only a form of G.reginae olgae .

Hans

[Anthony Darby]

Hans, are there any other snowdrops that will grow here in Auckland? Must get some seeds, and seeing your avatar reminds me that sea daffodils will probably grow also.

[Hans J]

Anthony ,

I dont know which Galanthus cultivars grows in Auckland ....maybe ask Chris Sanham ?

The picture in my avatar is not a Pancratium  .....it is a Pamianthe !!!
Please read here : http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=7047.0
Pancratium grows in the mediterranean area ...Pamianthe is from Peru

Hans

[Martin Baxendale]

Hans, Aaron Davis in The Genus Galanthus states that there are populations of reginae olgae on Sicily, where they have been studied by the botanist Kamari amongst others. Perhaps you were just unlucky not to find them.

[Hans J]

Martin ,

which page you mean ?
Please read page 105 - there write Davis in Distribution of G.r.o. ssp. vernalis : Greece ,Sicily +Montenegro

[Hans J]

Martin ,

in her work "A biosystematic study of the genus Galanthus " wrote G.Kamari :

G.reginae olgae ...distribution : Peloponnisos,Corfu,Ipiros,W Madeconia ,probably also in Albania ,S Italy and Sicily ....Specimen seen : only Taigetos Mts.

About G,corcyrensis is written : Specimen seen :Kerkyra

Those old founds of G.imperati f. australis (Zodda ) is from year 1904 !!!