Galanthus reginae-olgae ssp. reginae-olgae

From: Davis (1999). Permission has been granted by the author.

G. reginae-olgae subsp. reginae-olgae
G. corcyrensis (Beck) Stern;
G. reginae-olgae Orph. subsp. corcyrensis (Beck) Kamari.

LEAVES absent or shorter than the scape at the onset of flowering, 0–7(–10) x 0.5–0.7 cm; after flowering developing to 8–18(–24) x 0.5–0.9 cm. Scape 8–12 cm long.

Flowers in October and December in nature; September and December in cultivation.


Notes: Galanthus reginae-olgae subsp. reginae-olgae is a distinctive plant because it flowers from September to December, and has leaves that are either absent or very short at the onset of flowering (e.g. 1–3 cm long). If the leaves are absent at flowering time, each plant is represented simply by a single flowering scape. Galanthus peshmenii, also autumn-flowering, is the only other species that flowers when the leaves are either absent or only a few centimetres long. After flowering, the leaves of both species elongate greatly and widen slightly, and by the time the flowers are going over the leaves are almost fully developed.

Galanthus reginae-olgae subsp. reginae-olgae is found in mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, Corfu, and Sicily.