Plants to look for in January — Snowdrops
Photo credit: John Ockham
Where to look
They can be found in gardens and damp woods and meadows. They are widespread.
Description
The scientific name for the snowdrop is Galanthus nivalis. The first part of the name is from the Greek, "gala", which means milk, and "anthos" which means flower, while the second part, "nivalis", comes from the Latin for snow. Snowdrops are usually pollinated by early bees but because there aren’t many around during the winter, they rarely produce seeds and most plants are sterile. Where seeds are actually produced, they contain substances which attract ants which collect and transfer seed via their underground tunnels. However, most types of snowdrops spread by division of the underground bulb. Galanthamine is a substance isolated from snowdrops that can be used to improve sleep!
Spottings
“At the Sensory Garden in Stratford Park”
Indie
Alicia
CasparB
Stanley
“They were white and pretty.”
Gavin
“Great to see these out in the woods this afternoon.”
Tamsin
Juliet
“I spotted these snowdrops in the churchyard and they made me feel so hopeful and gave me the motivation to sign up to Wild Classrooms”
Graham
“Snowdrops in a pot”
Shahnaz
“In our garden.”
Shurjo
“Snowdrops In our garden.”
Mrs A
Amélie
Jo
Rob
Gavin
“Spotted in Lower Amble, Cornwall.”
Edie L
“These snowdrops are in our back garden”
Tamsin B
“We found these at slimbridge”
Ilse L
“We found these snowdrops in our back garden. They haven't flowered yet as it's not quite Spring.”
Where we've found Snowdrops
Snowdrops spottings journal (23 seen)
| Last seen | Location | Spotted by | Group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Feb 2025 | Stroud Valleys Project | At the Sensory Garden in Stratford Park | ||
| 31 Jan 2024 | Stroud Valleys Project | |||
| 22 Mar 2023 | Stroud Valleys Project | |||
| 15 Mar 2022 | Stroud Valleys Project | |||
| 4 Feb 2022 | in her garden | Indie | Foxmoor Primary | |
| 14 Jan 2022 | Dursley Woods | Alicia | Foxmoor Primary | |
| 4 Feb 2021 | CasparB | Caspar B | ||
| 1 Feb 2021 | Stroud Cemetery | Stanley | Brimacombes | They were white and pretty. |
| 23 Jan 2021 | Stroud | Gavin | Blended | Great to see these out in the woods this afternoon. |
| 23 Jan 2021 | Stroud | Tamsin | Stroud Valleys Project | |
| 21 Jan 2021 | St James Church Yard | Juliet | Barton and Tredworth | I spotted these snowdrops in the churchyard and they made me feel so hopeful and gave me the motivation to sign up to Wild Classrooms |
| 2 Jan 2021 | Tewkesbury | Graham | Wright Family | Snowdrops in a pot |
| 2 Jan 2021 | Tewkesbury | Shahnaz | Wright Family | In our garden. |
| 2 Jan 2021 | Tewkesbury | Shurjo | Wright Family | Snowdrops In our garden. |
| 20 May 2020 | Ruscombe | Mrs A | Year 2 CPS | |
| 5 May 2020 | Local garden | Amélie | Cooks&Co | |
| 7 Apr 2020 | Edge Churchyard | Jo | The Weaver's | |
| 2 Apr 2020 | Cranham | Rob | Cotswold Forager | |
| 24 Mar 2020 | Lower Amble, Cornwall. | Gavin | Blended | Spotted in Lower Amble, Cornwall. |
| 12 Mar 2020 | Blended | |||
| 28 Feb 2020 | Edie L | Leafgatherers | These snowdrops are in our back garden | |
| 13 Jan 2020 | Tamsin B | Stroud Valleys Project | We found these at slimbridge | |
| 10 Jan 2020 | Ilse L | Leafgatherers | We found these snowdrops in our back garden. They haven't flowered yet as it's not quite Spring. |
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