Galanthus nivalis the snow", referring either to the snow-like flower or the plant's early flowering. The common name snowdrop first appeared in the 1633 edition of John Gerard's "Great Herbal" (in the first edition (1597) he described it as the "Timely flowring Bulbus violet"). The derivation of the name is uncertain, although it may have come from the German word "Schneetropfen", which was a type of earring popular around that time. Other British traditional common names include "February fairmaids", "dingle-dangle", "Candlemas bells", "Mary's tapers" and, in parts of Yorkshire, "snow piercers" (like the French name ""). "Galanthus nivalis" is widely grown in
Micranthes nivalis Russia, Canada, Alaska and Greenland. The plant was first described by Carl Linnaeus in "Flora Lapponica" (1737), as a result of his Lapland voyage. Some populations from the Canadian Province of Quebec have been recognized as a distinct species by some authors, a variety of "M. nivalis" others: is distinguished from var. "nivalis" by smaller inflorescences and narrower leaves. It is known only from the Shickshock Mountains of the Gaspé Peninsula of southeastern Québec. It has been suggested that this may be a hybrid of "M. nivalis" and "M. tenuis;" further study is warranted. Micranthes nivalis Micranthes nivalis is a