Back to main Search Page

Leucojum aestivum - L.

Summer Snowflake

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Amaryllidaceae	Genus	Leucojum
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Europe, including Britain, from France south and east to Spain, Greece, the Crimea and Iran.
Habitat	Marshes, wet meadows and willow thickets, avoiding acid soils[17].
Edibility Rating	1 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	0 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Bulb growing to 0.5m by 0.12m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Meadow; Bog Garden;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Root.

Bulb - cooked[105]. I have some reservations about this report, though no records of the plant being poisonous have been found so far.

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Easily grown in ordinary garden soil[1]. It does well in a moist heavy soil in full sun or partial shade[1, 17, 31, 90] and is happy in water-logged conditions[90]. The dormant bulbs are fairly hardy and will withstand soil temperatures down to at least -5°c[214]. Plants can be naturalized in damp rough grass[200]. Flowers are produced within 4 - 5 years from seed. The seedpods are swollen and filled with air so that they can be dispersed by floating in water[90]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[233].

Propagation

The seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a well-drained soil in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 2 - 3 months cold stratification, it should then germinate in 2 - 4 weeks at 10°c[134]. Sow the seed thinly so that the seedlings can be allowed to grow on undisturbed in the pots for their first year of growth. Give them an occasional weak liquid feed to ensure that they do not become nutrient deficient. Pot up the small bulbs when dormant, planting 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on for another 2 - 3 years before planting them out. Division of offsets in September/October. It is best done as soon as the foliage ripens[1]. Scooping the bulbs.

Cultivars

There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[31] Brown. Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland. 0

[90] Phillips. R. and Rix. M. Bulbs Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30253-1
Superbly illustrated, it gives brief details on cultivation and native habitat.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[214] Matthews. V. The New Plantsman. Volume 1, 1994. Royal Horticultural Society 1994 ISBN 1352-4186
A quarterly magazine, it has articles on Himalayacalamus hookerianus, hardy Euphorbias and an excellent article on Hippophae spp.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Leucojum aestivum

Lydia Baker Wed Jan 19 16:54:58 2005

I found this plant the other day and it was blooming all ready Place found: Anderson SC 29625 in a woodland area Time found: 1/18/05 at 4:50pm Soil: moist red clay Temp: around 40 degrees.

Add a comment/link:

Discussion Monitor

To have posts to this page mailed to you enter your email address here:

(Your email address will not appear on the webpage or be passed on to third parties).