Galanthus nivalis Galanthus nivalis Galanthus nivalis, the snowdrop or common snowdrop, is the best-known and most widespread of the 20 species in its genus, "Galanthus". Snowdrops are among the first bulbs to bloom in spring and can form impressive carpets of white in areas where they are native or have been naturalised. They should not be confused with the snowflakes, in the genera "Leucojum" and "Acis". The generic name "Galanthus", from the Greek "gala" (milk) and "anthos" (flower), was given to the genus by Carl Linnaeus in 1735. He described "Galanthus nivalis" in his "" published in 1753. The epithet means "of
Luzula nivalis Luzula nivalis Luzula nivalis, commonly known as arctic wood-rush or less commonly as snowy wood-rush (both names are used with or without hyphenation), is a species of perennial rushes endemic to Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and Northern Europe in Scandinavia. It was described by Polunin (1940) as one of the most abundant, ubiquitous, and ecologically important of all arctic plants. "Luzula nivalis" is classified under the section "Thyrsanochlamydeae" of the subgenus "Luzula". It belongs to the genus "Luzula" of the rush family Juncaceae. With regards to the etymology of the binomial: the generic name "Luzula" could come from the Italian "lucciola"