Galanthus and referred to the French vernacular name, "" (Snow-pierce), based on the plants tendency to push through early spring snow (see Ecology for illustration)]. The modern family of Amaryllidaceae, in which "Galanthus" is placed, dates to Jaume Saint-Hilaire (1805) who replaced Jussieu's Narcissi with "Amaryllidées". In 1810 Brown proposed that a subgroup of Liliaceae be distinguished on the basis of the position of the ovaries and be referred to as Amaryllideae and in 1813 de Candolle separated them by describing Liliacées and Amaryllidées as two quite separate families. However, in his comprehensive survey of the Flora of France (Flore française,
Luzula nivalis ellipsoidal, smooth, brown and 1.0–1.2 × 0.6–0.7 mm in size. Basel appendages are fibrillate and up to 0.2 mm long. The fruit of "L. nivalis" is sessile and dry with a persistent and glabrous calyx. The rosette-like whorl of short leaves in "Luzula nivalis" allows it to easily be distinguished from "Luzula confusa". "Luzula nivalis" has been described as having an 'arctic-alpine circumpolar' distribution, as "L. nivalis" is an alpine plant which grows in the arctic regions of the northern hemisphere. Places which "L. nivalis" grows in include Norway, Sweden, Finland and Svalbard. "Luzula nivalis" has been found in a