Galanthus

Galanthus (snowdrop; Greek gála "milk", ánthos "flower") is a small genus of about 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae. Most flower in winter, before the vernal equinox (20 or 21 March in the Northern Hemisphere), but certain species flower in early spring and late autumn.

Snowdrops are sometimes confused with the two related genera within Galantheae, snowflakes Leucojum and Acis.

Description

All species of Galanthus are perennial, herbaceous plants which grow from bulbs. Each bulb generally produces just two or three linear leaves and an erect, leafless scape (flowering stalk), which bears at the top a pair of bract-like spathe valves joined by a papery membrane. From between them emerges a solitary, pendulous, bell-shaped white flower, held on a slender pedicel. The flower has no petals: it consists of six tepals, the outer three being larger and more convex than the inner series. The six anthers open by pores or short slits. The ovary is three-celled, ripening into a three-celled capsule. Each whitish seed has a small, fleshy tail (elaiosome) containing substances attractive to ants which distribute the seeds. The leaves die back a few weeks after the flowers have faded.

Snowdrops (novel)

Snowdrops is a novel by A. D. Miller which was shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize.

Plot

The novel is set in Moscow in the mid-nineties and is written in the form of first-person narrative by the protagonist, Nicholas, an English, Moscow-based commercial lawyer. Nicholas gets involved with two Russian girls, Masha, with whom he is romantically involved, and Katya. The liaison sees Nicholas Platt drawn into the underworld of Russia, as a plot unfolds around him, and his new relationship. The novel is written in a confessional style, leading up to the criminal act into which Nicholas has been drawn.

Miller has described Snowdrops as a "moral thriller", because the reader knows that something bad is going to happen, but is not exactly sure what.

Reception

The book received generally positive review, with The Guardian writing Snowdrops is a properly moral riposte to that attitude; a powerful warning of the dangers of staring at something so long that you stop noticing what you're seeing.