Amaryllidaceae FAMILY

Galanthus nivalis

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

The bulb is somewhat poisonous[ 100 Title Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Publication Author Polunin. O. Publisher Oxford University Press Year 1969 ISBN 0192176218 Description An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses. , 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. It contains phenanthridine alkaloids which can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea if ingested, though toxicity is usually only low[ 293 Title Poisonous Plants of North Carolina Publication Author Website http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent concise but comprehensive guide to toxic plants that grow in N. Carolina. It lists even those plants that are of very low toxicity, including several well-known food plants such as carrots and potatoes. ].

Botanical Description

Galanthus nivalis is a perennial plant growing from a globose bulb around 15 - 22mm in diameter; it forms a clump of grass-like leaves and a flowering stem up to 20cm tall. The plant spreads by seeds and division of the bulbs to form colonies[ 93 Title Flora of Turkey. Publication Author Davis. P. H. Publisher Edinburgh University Press Year 1965 ISBN - Description Not for the casual reader, this is an immense work in many volumes. Some details of plant uses and habitats. , 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine. This is one of several species that have been cultivated on a commercial scale for the extraction of the alkaloid 'galantamine', a substance used medicinally in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and also to treat several other conditions[ 2250 Title Plant Sources of Galanthamine: Phytochemical and Biotechnological Aspects Publication Biotechnology & Biotechnological Equipment, 23:2, 1170-1176, 2009 Author Berkov S. et al Website https://doi.org/10.1080/13102818.2009.10817633 Publisher Year 2009 ISBN 1310-2818 Description ]. The plant is also very widely grown as an ornamental, valued especially for its winter flowers - there are many named varieties[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeEurope - Germany to Spain, east to Belarus, Ukraine and the Balkans

HabitatShady pastures, woods and orchards, usually on damp soils[ 4 Title A Modern Herbal. Publication Author Grieve. Publisher Penguin Year 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 Description Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants. , 13 Title Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Publication Author Triska. Dr. Publisher Hamlyn Year 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3 Description Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore. , 17 Title Flora of the British Isles. Publication Author Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. Publisher Cambridge University Press Year 1962 ISBN - Description A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures. ]. Probably native in Wales and W. England, but naturalized in other parts of Britain[ 17 Title Flora of the British Isles. Publication Author Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. Publisher Cambridge University Press Year 1962 ISBN - Description A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures. ]. Scrub-covered hillsides, light woodland; at elevations up to 600 metres[ 93 Title Flora of Turkey. Publication Author Davis. P. H. Publisher Edinburgh University Press Year 1965 ISBN - Description Not for the casual reader, this is an immense work in many volumes. Some details of plant uses and habitats. ].