Galanthus name for the feast day. The French name of "Violette de la Chandaleur" refers to Candlemas, while an Italian name, "Fiore della purificazone", refers to purification. The German name of "" (Little snow bells) also invokes the symbol of bells. In the Language of flowers, the "Snowdrop" is synonymous with 'Hope', as it blooms in early springtime, just before the vernal equinox, and so is seen as 'heralding' the new spring and new year. Galanthus Galanthus (snowdrop; Greek "gála" "milk", "ánthos" "flower") is a small genus of about 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae. The
Chlamydomonas nivalis "C. nivalis" is complex, it also helps the algae exploit its niche and survive unfavourable conditions. As a result, "C. nivalis" is one of the best known and studied snow algae. When taking account of the photoprotective effect of its secondary carotenoid, astaxanthin, among the other adaptive mechanisms to its extreme habitat, it can be understood how "C. nivalis" became so dominant in microbial snow algae communities. Green motile offspring are produced in the spring and throughout the summer. They develop into red dormant cysts, the stage where this organism spends most of its life cycle, as the winter season