Galanthus have now been lost, and others not seen by the authors). They differ particularly in the size, shape, and markings of the flower, the period of flowering, and other characteristics, mainly of interest to the keen (even fanatical) snowdrop collectors, known as "galanthophiles", who hold meetings where the scarcer cultivars change hands. Double-flowered cultivars and forms, such as the extremely common "Galanthus nivalis" f. "pleniflorus" 'Flore Pleno', may be less attractive to some people, but they can have greater visual impact in a garden setting. Many hybrids have also occurred in cultivation. In the UK these species: and these cultivars:
Chlamydomonas nivalis become one of the most well-studied snow algae. Although its taxonomy is still being settled, the life cycle of this snow algae is now much better understood. The historical disputes about the classification and misclassification of specimens have resulted in a number of names from older publications that all mean to refer to "C. nivalis". These are: "Uredo nivalis", "Sphaerella nivalis", "Protococcus nivalis", and "Haematococcus nivalis". "C. nivalis" has been reported worldwide in mountainous regions, polar regions, or snowfields of every continent. It is the most abundant snow algae and typically composes the majority of cells identified in specimens taken