Chionodoxa lochiae
Encyclopedia
Chionodoxa lochiae or Loch's Glory-of-the-snow is a bulbous
perennial
from Cyprus
flowering in early spring. After flowering, it goes into dormancy
until the next spring. It was named after Lady Loch who collected it.
Like all members of the genus Chionodoxa
, the bases of the stamen
s are flattened and closely clustered in the middle of the flower. In the related genus Scilla
, the stamens are not flattened or clustered together. The differences are not considered by some botanists as sufficient to create a separate genus, so they include this species in Scilla.
C. lochiae is an endemic of the Toodos Mountains of Cyprus, where it flowers during March and April in moist organic soils in pine forests at higher elevations. Found only in a small area, it is strictly protected under the Berne Convention.
It has relatively few flowers in a raceme
, each about 2.5 cm in diameter. The flowers are bright blue, without white at the base of the tepal
s, as most other species of Chionodoxa
have, although the stamen bases are white. Photographs taken in the wild show the flowers nodding rather than upright.
Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
from Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
flowering in early spring. After flowering, it goes into dormancy
Ephemeral Plant
An ephemeral plant is one marked by short life cycles, usually six to eight weeks. The word ephemeral means transitory or quickly fading. In regards to plants, it refers to several distinct growth strategies...
until the next spring. It was named after Lady Loch who collected it.
Like all members of the genus Chionodoxa
Chionodoxa
Chionodoxa ' is a small genus of bulbous perennials in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. The genus is endemic to the eastern Mediterranean region, specifically Crete, Cyprus and Turkey. The blue, white or pink flowers appear early in the year making them valuable garden ornamentals...
, the bases of the stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s are flattened and closely clustered in the middle of the flower. In the related genus Scilla
Scilla
Scilla is a genus of about 50 bulb-forming perennial herbs in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, native to woodlands, subalpine meadows, and seashores throughout Europe and Asia...
, the stamens are not flattened or clustered together. The differences are not considered by some botanists as sufficient to create a separate genus, so they include this species in Scilla.
C. lochiae is an endemic of the Toodos Mountains of Cyprus, where it flowers during March and April in moist organic soils in pine forests at higher elevations. Found only in a small area, it is strictly protected under the Berne Convention.
It has relatively few flowers in a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
, each about 2.5 cm in diameter. The flowers are bright blue, without white at the base of the tepal
Tepal
Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...
s, as most other species of Chionodoxa
Chionodoxa
Chionodoxa ' is a small genus of bulbous perennials in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. The genus is endemic to the eastern Mediterranean region, specifically Crete, Cyprus and Turkey. The blue, white or pink flowers appear early in the year making them valuable garden ornamentals...
have, although the stamen bases are white. Photographs taken in the wild show the flowers nodding rather than upright.