Common Snowdrop / Almindelig Vintergæk

Galanthus nivalis


Snowdrop, (Danish Vintergæk), was named the Morning Star among winter flowers. It arrives early, trickeling up through the snow already in February or even before if the winter is mild. But it is a flower of the cold winter months, it has gone before spring takes a serious hold.

Snowdrop is a low bulp-plant, ab. 10-20 cm high. The yellow-green shoots are the first showing above the soil. In the shoot are both two leaves and one flower. The white bell-shaped flowers last about one month, but there might be flowers from February till April dependent on the course of winter and the placement of the bulbs in the garden.

Snowdrop thrives best in moist, nutrient-rich humus, where it comes back year after year. If the bulbs are in the lawn, it is important that they are allowed to die down, before the lawn is mowed the first time or else the bulb cannot gather enough nourishment till next year. The fastest way to grow new snowdrops is to have a lump of bulbs from friends or family. It is easy to move the lump with flowers, if they are moved in a whole lump and plant in the same depth. Or of course buy bulbs and put them in the soil in 5-10 cm's depth during autumn.



Snowdrop is propagated from seed or sidebulbs. That's why a group of snowdrops grow bigger each year. After they have ceased to flower they can be increased in numbers when dividing the bulbs carefully, and since they do not endure drying they have to be plant the same day. If sidebulbs are placed in the garden in various places it takes two years before they are big enough to flower. A snowdrop can also be propagated by the seeds, it takes ab. 4 years before there is a bulb able to set flowers. The seed-propagating is done by nature itself, but if snowdrops emerge in strange places, then it might be the ants or mice who move seeds and bulbs.

There are ab. 14 various snowdrops. The most common sorts are all Galanthus nivalis. They look alike but have various green markings upon the white flower-head. A few are different like Galanthus nivalis Plenus with filled flowers, Galanthus nivalis ssp Reginaeolgae, which flowers in autumn. The last mentioned looks like the common snowdrop but has shorter petals, and the flowerbells have a green horseshoe-shaped marking.

Very different are Maximus with larger flowers, Lutescus with yellow markings on the petals and Pictur with green spots upon outer and inner petals. These relatives come especially from Turkey. Most of them are delicate towards hard winters.

Snowdrop is closely connected to a Danish tradition about writing gækkebreve. A snowdrop, fresh or dried, is put together with a finely cut letter. The sender writes his/her name with dots and adds a small verse, and then it's up to the receiver to guess from whom the letter comes. If this is not solved the receiver has to give the sender an Easter egg.

Snowdrops kan be put indoors for earlier flowering -  dig up a lump when the shoot is traceable, plant it in a pot and place it as cool as possible. As soon as the flowers have withered they can be plant in the garden again.

For the fun of it can coloured ink be added to the water in a vase with snowdrops, and in a few hours the petals will be red, green or blue etc. In a vase or pot with full-blown snowdrops their heads will close if they are put in a cool place.

It is important to let the green leaves stay on the withered flowers. The green gathers nourishment for the next years' blooming. This goes for both snowdrops and other bulb-plants.

The plant was also used in folk medicine. It contains an active substance called galanthamine, which can be helpful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, though it is not a cure.

It is useful as a bee-plant because of its early flowering and it gives much nectare but only a little pollen.

The generic name tagalanthus from the Greek gala (milk) and anthos (flower), was given to the genus by Carl Linnaeus in 1735. He described Galanthus nivalis in his Species Plantarum published in 1753. The epithet "nivalis" means "of the snow", referring either to the snow-like flower or the plant's early flowering. The common name snowdrop first appeared in the 1633 edition of John Gerard's Great Herbal . Other British traditional common names include February Fairmaids, Dingle-Dangle, Candlemas bells, Mary's tapers and in parts of Yorkshire Snow Pierces (like the French name perce-neige).

Source: Anemette Olesen, Idényt.


photo Forsthaven: grethe bachmann

Marsh-Daisy/Engelskgræs

Armeria maritima



Marsh-daisy grows wild in coastal areas across the Northern Hemisphere, especially in Europe. It grows in sandy salty conditions like beaches, dunes, tidal meadows and overdrev (commons). It is a popular garden flower known by several common names 'thrift', 'sea thrift' , 'sea pink' etc. The plant has been distributed worldwide as a garden and cut flower.
During the last 50 years it has spread to the edge of traffic roads where the salt from the winter period gives it good conditions of life.

Folklore and habits in Denmark:
In the old days the plant was used as a border in garden beets. Children used it in their games, they fought with the long flower stems, until the one part's 'head' fell off. The stems were used in order to plait fine figures, like 'church windows', and the stem with the flowers for beautiful garlands or bridal wreaths. Little garlands were hung in the loft beam in the living room for the flies in order to avoid flyspots in other places.
Children sucked nectar from the flowers, and in some places the plant was called rugblomst (rye flower), because a bouquet of the flowers gave a scent like newly baked rye bread. The plant had many local names like Kongens Knap (the King's Button), Vorherre's brød (Our Lord's Bread). Some names had something to do with the spring lambs that liked to nip the flower heads. The shepherds' children thought that if they plucked the flowers then the lambs would die.

photo 310508: grethe bachmann, Gammel Ry, Mid Jutland

Viper's Buglos / Slangehoved

Echium vulgare



Viper's buglos is native to most of Europe and west and central Asia. This wildflower is found on disturbed dry soils, dunes, shingle, cliffs and open grassland. It is a good nectar plant, attracting lots of bees. On warm days the brilliant blue flowers are covered in honey bees and bumblebees.

Other names are Blue Devil, Blueweed, Thistle and Viper's Grass. The genus name echium comes from the Greek word Ekbis = viper. The viper part of the name may derive from the spotted stem said to recall marks on a snake, or an imagined resemblance between the flower-head and the head of a snake. Viper's buglos is an example of a wildflower that received a frightening name based simply on its looks. Some people thought that the plante created a hiding place for snakes or that the plant was guilty of other serpent-related qualities.

A red dye is obtained from the root.

Medicine.
Actually Viper's buglos was once considered to be a preventive and remedy for snake bites. Traditional the leaves of the plant were boiled and made into a tea which helped fevers and headaches or made into an infusion for nervous complaints.

photo June 2007: grethe bachmann, Jernhatten, Djursland

Sticky Catchfly/ Tjærenellike

Lychnis viscaria



Sticky Catchfly/Tjærenellike is a very attractive plant with dark pink flowers on a tall stem, which is sticky just below each pair of leaves. The plant is said to increase the disease resistance of surrounding plants. Extract from it contains a relatively high amount of brassino-steroids, which have a proven positive effect on the growth of other plants. In Germany the extract is allowed for use as a 'plant strengthening substance.' Sticky catchfly is native to Europe, Asia and North America.

If you pluck it, your fingers almost fasten in the tar-like paste on the stem, and if you look closely you'll see little dead and half-dead insects in the paste. The English name sticky catcfly is well-chosen. It is not a carnivorous plant though - on the contrary it has lots of nectar for bees and butterflies. In fact it is one of the best nectar plants in Denmark. On the other hand the plant wages war on the insects that try to steal the nectar, the so-called nectar robbers, fx ants. They empty the flowers of nectar without pollinating them , and insects on their way up fasten helplessly in the paste on the stem. Mother Nature is really smart.


photo 250508: grethe bachmann, Stigsholm Sø, Mid Jutland

Sea Holly /Strand-Mandstro

Eryngium maritimum



Sea Holly is a native to most of Europe's coastline where it is seen in dunes and upon tidal meadows together with sea kale, Lady's Bedstraw, St. John's wort, Marram grass and Marsh daisy.It is a highly ornamental plant with spiny, leathery, intensely whitish-glaucous leaves and roundish heads of pale blue flowers.The protected dune plant is considered endangered although widespread. In Denmark it is protected and red-listed, and it must not be plucked. Insects seek to it for nectar.

The Danish name Mandstro has something to do with love and trust, i.e. trusting someone. Flowers of Mandstro were put into love bouquets together with other flowers symbolizing eternal love. Another Danish name is Strandtidsel (thistle). It resembles in some way the flowering thistle, except that Sea Holly's flowers are metallic blue.


Helgenæs, Sea Holly grows along this coast

The name Eryngium comes from Greek eryngion meaning goatsbeard. The young, tender flowering shoots can be eaten like Asparagus. In Tudor times the roots were candied and known as eringoes eaten as sweetmeats and regarded as an aphrodisiac, obviously appreciated by Falstaff:

Let the sky rain potatoes,
Let it thunder to the tune of Green-sleeve,
Hail kissing-comfits and snow eringos, (Sea-Holly)
Let there come a tempest of provocation.

From Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor".

A manufactory for making candied roots of the Sea Holly was established at Colchester, by Robert Burton, an apothecary, in the seventeenth century, as they were considered both antiscorbutic, and excellent for health.

These Eryngo roots, prepared with sugar, were then called "Kissing Comfits." Lord Bacon when recommending the yolks of eggs for giving strength if taken with Malmsey, or sweet wine, says: "You shall doe well to put in some few slices of Eringium roots, and a little Ambergrice: for by this means, besides the immediate facultie of nourishment, such drinke will strengthen the back."

Plutarch writes: "They report of the Sea Holly, if one goat taketh it into her mouth, it causeth her first to stand still, and afterwards the whole flock, until such time as the shepherd takes it from her."



photo ⓒ Draget, Helgenæs 11. July 2009: grethe bachmann