Varieties of elwesii
Varieties of elwesii
Galanthus elwesii occurs in extreme south east Europe, around the Black Sea and over much of Turkey.
It is an extremely variable plant and has been imported into Europe in huge numbers over a very long time. Although the vast majority of these wild dug bulbs have ultimately perished, sufficient have persisted to give elwesii a strong and highly varied foothold in western gardens. There are numerous named selections available and elwesii has been the parent of some outstanding hybrids.
For a long time, the name elwesii was reserved for plants with both an apical and a basal green mark on the inner petal. Plants with only a single apical mark were thought to be a separate species, Galanthus caucasicus. A better understanding of these plants in the wild shows that they are both variants of a highly variable species and the name elwesii has priority. The single marked plants ("caucasicus of gardens") are correctly known as elwesii var. monostictus. Although the single marked plants are very rare in the wild, they are very common in gardens; a phenomenon that remains to be fully explained.
With such a variable plant, generalisations are difficult. On the whole, however, it is larger and earlier flowering than the yardstick nivalis. It also seems to benefit from regular lifting, dividing and replanting.
