Chionodoxa luciliae

Chionodoxa luciliae
	"Glory of the Snow" specimens in bloom
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae;
(unranked):	Angiosperms;
(unranked):	Monocots;
Order:	Asparagales;
Family:	Hyacinthaceae;
Genus:	Chionodoxa; Boiss.
Species:	C. luciliae;
Binomial name
	Chionodoxa luciliae;

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Chionodoxa luciliae (syn. C. forbesii, C. gigantea), or Glory-of-the-Snow is a small (3-6") flower which grows from a hardy bulb and produces one of the earliest flowers of spring. Originally from Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean region, it is hardy in hardiness zones 3-8, sun or part shade. Chiodoxa seeds itself and will spread in beds that will later have other interest, like rose beds and so on.

According to the Royal Horticultural Society, the current preference in taxonomy for this plant is Chionodoxa forbesii. ^[1] The original name (C. luciliae) was in honour of Lucile, the wife of the Swiss botanist Pierre Edmond Boissier, but it is now called C. forbesii. There are 3 varieties, the wild blue form, C. forbesii alba, a natural white variety and C. forbesii "Piank Giant". C. gigantea is an older term that still appears in catalogues.