Galanthus Spanish and French Pyrenees in the west through to the Caucasus and Iran in the east, and south to Sicily, the Peloponnese and the Aegean, Turkey, Lebanon and Syria. The northern limit is uncertain because "G. nivalis" has been widely introduced and cultivated throughout Europe. "G. nivalis" and some other species valued as ornamentals have become widely naturalized in Europe, North America and other regions. "Galanthus nivalis" is the best-known and most widespread representative of the genus "Galanthus". It is native to a large area of Europe, stretching from the Pyrenees in the west, through France and Germany to Poland
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