Summer Snowflake
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Summer snowflake is a unique and beautiful flower that grows in mid-to-late spring. The genus Leocojum belongs to the family Amaryllis and sub-family Amaryllidoideae. It is of European origin and grows to Pyrenees, Romania and Russia. Today, this flower has been introduced in North America, South West Asia and Northern Iran as well. They grow well in damp areas such as riversides, swamps and in damp woodlands. This wonderful flower falls in the type of the bulbous plant. It grows in condtions such as partial sun to full sunlight. It grows as tall as 6  to 14 inches. Just as the name suggests, it is as white as a snow flake, purely white in color. It is a spring bloom plant though its name suggests summer. It helps serve as a ground cover and helps prevent soil erosion. One of the special features o this plant is that it has fragrance, it grows well in a container and it has low maintenance. It is commonly known as summer snowflake or Loddon lily in Europe, Caucasus, Australia, Middle East and North America. Its other common names include:

Snow bell, St.Agnes’ flower and dew drop.

Summer snowflake was culturally named as the country flower of Berkshire and since it was common in the Loddon valley, it was given the common name Loddon Lily.

 

 

Scientific classification:

Kingdom: Plantae

Clade: Angiosperm

Clade: Monocot

Order: Asparagales

Family: Amaryllidaceae

Sub-family: Amarlyllidoideae

Genus: Leucojum

Synonyms: Narcissoleucojum Ortega, Nivaria Heist,        Polyanthemum Bunani, Erinosma Herb

 

Leaf: This plan has leaf of parallel venation. It is a grass like foliage. It is dark green in color and is narrow in appearance.

Flower: Summer snowflake has a small bell-shaped flower. It is purely white in color with an occasional touch of yellow spot at the end of the tepal. The bloom starts from February to March. This is the time when the snow starts to melt in the mountains. The flower produces some slight level of fragrance as well.

Edible part of the summer snowflake:

It is the bulb of this plant that is edible. It is cooked and eaten.

Habitat: This plant has been found to be the lover of damp area for its proper survival. It grows well in marshes, wood lands, wet meadows, riverside and willow thickets. It grows in soil that is free of acid.

Propagation: It is possible to propagate, summer snowflake through the seed provided that the seed is freshly ripened and planted in a well drained soil. Make sure that you plant the seeds thinly so that the plant can easily spread around once it starts to come to maturity. Provide little amount of liquid to the plant occasionally.

The other method of propagating this plant is via bulb. Plant 2 to 3 bulbs in a seed when in dormant state. As the foliage starts to ripen up, it is well suggested to divide the off sets. The right time to do this job is September or October.

Cultivation: It is suggested for you to plant summer snowflake in an area that has access to full to partial sunlight. Also make sure that the soil is well-drained. Plant the bulbs in a compost rich soil or add bulb fertilizer to the soil. The bulb needs to be planted 3 to 4 inches deep in the soil with 6 to 10 inches of space.

Care: Taking care of summer snowflake can be the easiest when you take care of small conditions. The plant needs damp or moist soil. Thus, provide occasional water to the plant, making sure that the plant is deeply watered especially during the no rainfall time. Also, water more when the plant is in active growing stage.

Protect the plant from slugs and snails. You can set some bait in order to protect to the plant. Since, some baits are quite toxic, it is good to keep it away from the reach of children.

Differences between summer snowflakes and spring snowflakes:

One of the commonest differences between the two flowers is that summer snowflake has green dots at the edge of all the petals but spring snowflake has these dots at the edge of only three petals out of the six petals.

Summer snowflake is much taller of the two plants.

In general: Summer snowflake is a type of shrub. It is also taken as a deciduous plant with moderate growth rate. It has good power of attracting birds. It is deer resistant. It has green colored foliage. It blooms in late spring to summer. This beautiful white flower gives nice fragrance to some extent. It has served as a good ornamental plant for background beds and borders. It looks wonderful when planted in mix with some other plants as well. It requires proper watering and some amount of fertilizer.

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