Galanthus elwesii Greater Snowdrop Endemic
As Snowdrops in the British Isles are not native, even Galanthus nivalis being probably an introduction according to Stace, this was the first time I had seen a native Snowdrop species in its natural habitat. The plants here were twice the size of the garden escapes I had previously seen and grew on rocky slopes in sub alpine forested areas and amongst the snow covered rocks and out of cracks and crevices of Mount Olympos.
The green markings don't exactly correspond to those described in various Snowdrop keys either. The commonest being two separate green marks supposedly more typical of Galanthus plicatus and one which looks like a green rocket ship (large photo left).
The plant is named after Henry Elwes who found it in the hills near Izmir in Turkey. It can also be found in Greece, Balkans, Ukraine and Bulgaria as well as in Turkey at heights of up to 5,000 feet.
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| Galanthus elwesii Greater Snowdrop unusual marking | Galanthus elwesii Greater Snowdrop in snow | Galanthus elwesii Greater Snowdrop with Cyclamen alpinum |
Mount Olympos at the snow line, Turkey 6th April 2015
Added on 19th April 2015