Galanthus description as "Viola alba" or "Viola bulbosa" using Pliny's translation, and comments that the plant had originated in Italy and had "taken possession" in England "many years past". The genus was formally named "Galanthus" and described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, with the single species, "Galanthus nivalis", which is the type species. Consequently, Linnaeus is granted the botanical authority. In doing so, he distinguished this genus and species from "Leucojum" ("Leucojum bulbosum trifolium minus"), a name by which it had been previously known. In 1763 Adanson began a system of arranging genera in families. Using the synonym "Acrocorion" (also spelt
Chlamydomonas nivalis begins and remain a cyst until the spring. This alga is an interesting organism for researchers in various fields to study due to its possible role in lowering global albedo, ability to survive in extreme environments, and production of commercially relevant compounds. Additionally, its life cycle is still being studied today in an effort to better understand this organism and amend previous classification errors. The name "Chlamydomonas nivalis" is of Latin origin. It translates to ‘found growing in or near snow’. The Latin meaning describes the organism well as this species of algae are only found associated with snow or