Galanthus elwesii in Curtis's Botanical Magazine, and thus the species bears his name as the botanical authority. Later the plants collected by Elwes were found to actually be "G. gracilis" but the name was retained for a different specimen. The species is named in honour of Henry John Elwes. A native of the Caucasus, the species has been widely introduced. "G. elwesii" is grown as an ornamental plant in gardens where they easily naturalise. Bulbs planted in the autumn flower in the early spring. Propagation is by separation of bulbils after flowering. Galanthus elwesii Galanthus elwesii (Elwes's snowdrop, greater snowdrop) is one
Galanthus nivalis (flowering stalk), which bears at the top a pair of bract-like spathe valves joined by a papery membrane. From between them emerges a solitary, pendulous, bell-shaped white flower, held on a slender pedicel. The flower consists of six tepals, also referred to as segments. The outer three are larger and more convex than the inner ones. The inner flower segments are usually marked on their outer surface with a green or greenish-yellow V- or U-shaped mark (sometimes described as "bridge-shaped") over the small sinus (notch) at the tip of each tepal. The inner surface has a faint green mark covering