Synonym: Leucoium aestivum.
Name: from he Greek leukos, meaning white, and ion, meaning violet.
English: Summer snowflake: Loddon lily; Snowbell; Dewdrop; St. Agnes' flower.
Region: Europe, Turkey, Iran, Caucasus, with the exception of Scandinavia, Russia, Belarus, Baltic Republics.
Use: ornamental.
Botany: perennial bulbous herb, ± 50 cm tall; leaves, strap-shaped, ± 10 mm wide; stem hollow, has wings with translucent margins; flowers pendant, in late spring, in umbels, ± 5; flowers, stalks different lengths, ± 3 cm in diameter, six white tepals, with a greenish mark just below the tip; seeds black; fruits with flotation chambers, remain attached to the stem; bulbs and fruits can be transported during heavy floods.
Content: toxic alkaloids lycorine and galantamine; galantamine is used for cognitive decline, mild to moderate Alzheimer's, memory impairments.
Clades: Amaryllidoideae;
Amaryllidaceae;
Liliales;
Liliidae;
Lilianae;
Angiospermae;
Plants.