Leucojum aestivum pulchellum

• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Amaryllidaceae

Herbs perennial , rarely shrubby or treelike, often with bulbs, corms, rhizomes, or tubers. Leaves basal or cauline, often narrow, margin entire or spiny . Inflorescence a terminal spike, umbel, raceme , panicle, or flowers solitary. Flowers bisexual , actinomorphic or zygomorphic, usually subtended by 1 to several spathaceous involucres. Perianth segments 6, in 2 whorls, free or connate to form a short tube , with or without a corona . Stamens 6, inserted at perianth throat or at base of segments; filaments sometimes basally connate; anther dorsifixed or basifixed , mostly introrse . Ovary inferior, 3-loculed; ovules few to many per locule; placentation axile . Style slender; stigma capitate or 3-lobed. Fruit a capsule, usually loculicidal, sometimes dehiscing irregularly, rarely a berry. Seeds with endosperm.

More than 100 genera and 1200 species: tropical , subtropical , and temperate regions worldwide; ten genera and 34 species (14 endemic, four introduced ) in China.[1]

Genus Leucojum

Herbs, perennial , scapose , from brown, globose to ovoid , tunicate bulb. Leaves several; blade linear-ligulate, base sheathing . Scape stout, hollow [slender, solid]. Inflorescences umbellate , 2-5(-7) -flowered, spathaceous ; spathe bracts 2, free or entirely adnate on 1 side, appearing monophyllous . Flowers nodding ; perianth campanulate ; tepals 6, distinct , oblanceolate to ovate , equal; stamens 6, distinct; anthers basifixed , conic, longer than filaments , blunt apically, dehiscing by terminal pores ; ovary inferior, green, 3-locular, globose, septal nectaries present; style filiform or clavate , exceeding anthers; stigma minutely capitate. Fruits capsular , erect , pyriform to subglobose, dehiscence loculicidal; pericarp somewhat fleshy . Seeds numerous , black, appendages absent. x = 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

Species ca. 10: introduced ; c, sw Europe, nw Africa, and sw Asia (Armenia, Crimea) ; introduced elsewhere.

Several species of Leucojum are cultivated for their flowers. Although other species such as L. autumnale Linnaeus (autumn snowflake) and L. vernum Linnaeus (spring snowflake) may persist in old gardens, only the commonly cultivated L. aestivum (summer snowflake) is known definitely to be naturalized in the flora . There are unconfirmed reports that L. vernum is naturalized in the panhandle area of Florida.

Leucojum is sometimes confused with Galanthus, a spring-flowering, Eurasian relative, but it differs in that Leucojum has perianth segments that are all equal in size, and hollow stems that are usually taller and bear 2-5 flowers. In the southern states, the common name snowdrop, which usually refers to Galanthus species, is applied to Leucojum.

Leaves and bulbs of Leucojum contain the alkaloids lycorine and galanthamine, and are poisonous.[2]

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Leucojum aestivum L. pulchellum (Salisb.) Briq. • Leucojum hernandezii Cambess. • Leucojum pulchellum Salisb.

Notes

Publishing author : Malag. Publication : Las Subesp. y Variac. Geogr. 26 (1973)

Basionym author: (Salisb.)

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 09-Jul-2004

Similar Species

Members of the genus Leucojum

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 14 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

L. aestivum (Dewdrop) · L. aestivum aestivum (Summer Snowflake) · L. aestivum pulchellum (Summer Snowflake) · L. aestivum 'Gravetye Giant' (Dewdrop) · L. aestivum subsp. pulchellum (Summer Snowflake) · L. autumnale (Autumn Snowflake) · L. autumnale 'Cobb's Variety' (Autumn Snowflake) · L. capitulatum (Palm-Grass) · L. nicaeense (Mentone) · L. pulchellum (Summer Snowflake) · L. roseum (Snowflake) · L. vernum (Spring Snowflake) · L. vernum var. carpathicum (Spring Snowflake) · L. vernum var. vagneri (Spring Snowflake)

More Info

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Further Reading

• Davis, P. H., ed. 1965–1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands. (F Turk)
• Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs. (CRC MedHerbs ed2)
• Gleason, H. A. & A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, ed. 2. (Glea Cron ed2)
• Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. (Dict Gard)
• Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934–1964. Flora SSSR. (F USSR)
• Sell, P. & G. Murrell. 1996–. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland. (F GB Ire)
• Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964–1980. Flora europaea. (F Eur)
• Walters, S. M. et al., eds. 1986–. European garden flora. (Eur Gard F)
• Qian Xiao-hu, Chen Sing-chi, Hsu Yin, Hu Zhi-bi, Huang Xiu-lan & Fan Quan-jin. 1985. Amaryllidaceae. In: Pei Chien & Ting Chih-tsun, eds., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 16(1): 1--42.
• Crespo, M. B. M., D. Lledo, M. F. Fay, and M. W. Chase. 1996. Molecular phylogeny of Leucojum based on ITS sequences. [Abstract.] Amer. J. Bot. 83(6, suppl.): 149.
• Stern, F. C. 1956. Snowdrops and Snowflakes”A Study of the Genera Galanthus and Leucojum. London.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 12, 2012.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 18, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from provider.
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
• The International Plant Names Index. Accessed Dec 27, 2011.
• USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL (May 04, 2008)
• World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Release date: November 27, 2009

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2672533
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-280127
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13902365
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:874167-1
• GRIN Nomen Number: 21975
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: PMLIL19012
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 168723

Footnotes

1. Zhanhe Ji & Alan W. Meerow "Amaryllidaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 264. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. Gerald B. Straley  & Frederick H. Utech "Leucojum". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 55, 280, 293. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.