Galanthus nivalis York State, Michigan, Utah, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina). Although often thought of as a British native wild flower, or to have been brought to the British Isles by the Romans, it is now thought that it was probably introduced much later, perhaps around the early sixteenth century. "Galanthus nivalis" grows to around 7–15 cm tall, flowering between January and April in the northern temperate zone (January–May in the wild). They are perennial, herbaceous plants which grow from bulbs. Each bulb generally produces two linear, or very narrowly lanceolate, greyish-green leaves and an erect, leafless scape
Luzula nivalis is the species's basionym and was used before "L. arctica". "Luzula nivalis" is a relatively small perennial herbaceous plant (or "herb") which grows to heights of between in a caespitose fashion. "L. nivalis "has fibrous roots and ascending rhizomes, older plants have vertical stems either at ground level or underground; the plant base is straw-brown/pale castaneous brown in colour. The plant is subglabrous with erect, aerial stems and numerous alternate basal leaves. These crowded leaves are marcescent, flat, remain for many years, usually up to long and wide." L. nivalis" also has 1–2 cauline leaves which are long; both leaf