Editing Galanthus (section)

=== History ===

==== Early ====
[[File:Leucojum bulbosum praecox Gerard.jpg|thumb|''G. nivalis'' from [[John Gerard]]'s ''Herball'', 1597]]
Snowdrops have been known since early times, being described by the classical [[Greeks|Greek]] author [[Theophrastus]], in the fourth century BCE, in his ''Περὶ φυτῶν ἱστορία'' ([[Latin]]: ''Historia plantarum'', ''Enquiry into plants''). He gave it, and similar plants, the name λευκόἲον (λευκος, leukos "white" and ἰόν, ion "violet") from which the later name ''Leucojum'' was derived. He described the plant as "ἑπεἰ τοῖς γε χρώμασι λευκἂ καἱ οὐ λεπυριώδη" (in colour white and bulbs without scales)<ref name=HP134/> and of their habits "Ἰῶν δ' ἁνθῶν τὀ μἑν πρῶτον ἑκφαἱνεται τὁ λευκόἲον, ὅπου μἑν ό ἀἠρ μαλακώτερος εὐθὑς τοῦ χειμῶνος, ὅπου δἐ σκληρότερος ὕστερον, ἑνιαχοῡ τοῡ ἣρος" (Of the flowers, the first to appear is the white violet. Where the climate is mild, it appears with the first sign of winter, but in more severe climates, later in spring)<ref name=HP49/>

[[Rembert Dodoens]], a [[Flanders|Flemish]] botanist, described and illustrated this plant in 1583 as did [[John Gerard|Gerard]] in England in 1597 (probably using much of Dodoens' material), calling it ''Leucojum bulbosum praecox'' (Early bulbous violet). Gerard refers to Theophrastus's description as ''Viola alba'' or ''Viola bulbosa'', using [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]]'s translation, and comments that the plant had originated in Italy and had "taken possession" in England "many years past".<ref name=Gerard/> The [[genus]] was formally named ''Galanthus'' and described by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1753,<ref name=Linnaeus/> with the single [[species]], ''[[Galanthus nivalis]]'', which is the [[type (biology)|type]] species. Consequently, Linnaeus is granted the [[botanical authority]]. In doing so, he distinguished this genus and species from ''[[Leucojum]]'' (''Leucojum bulbosum trifolium minus''), a name by which it previously had been known.<ref name=WCSP/><ref name=APW/><ref name=Churchgal/>

==== Modern ====

In 1763 [[Michel Adanson]] began a system of arranging genera in families. Using the [[synonym (taxonomy)|synonym]] ''Acrocorion'' (also spelt ''Akrokorion''),<ref name=Adansongal/> he placed ''Galanthus'' in the family [[Liliaceae]], section Narcissi.<ref name=Adansonnarc/> [[Lamarck]] provided a description of the genus in his encyclopedia (1786),<ref name=Lamarck/> and later, ''Illustrations des genres'' (1793).<ref name=Lamarckillus/> In 1789 [[Antoine Laurent de Jussieu|de Jussieu]], who is credited with the modern concept of genera organised in [[family (biology)|families]], placed ''Galanthus'' and related genera within a [[division (botany)|division]] of [[Monocotyledons]], using a modified form of Linnaeus' sexual classification, but with the respective topography of stamens to carpels rather than just their numbers. In doing so, he restored the name ''Galanthus'' and retained their placement under Narcissi, this time as a family (known as ''Ordo'', at that time) and referred to the French vernacular name, ''[[:fr:Perce-neige|Perce-neige]]''{{sfn|Clos|1862|loc=''Perce-neige'' p.&nbsp;658}} (Snow-pierce), based on the plants tendency to push through early spring snow (see [[#Ecology|Ecology]] for illustration).<ref name=Jussieu/> The modern family of [[Amaryllidaceae]], in which ''Galanthus'' is placed, dates to [[Jaume Saint-Hilaire]] (1805) who replaced Jussieu's Narcissi with ''Amaryllidées''.<ref name=Saint-Hilaire/> In 1810, [[Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)|Brown]] proposed that a subgroup of Liliaceae be distinguished on the basis of the position of the [[Ovary (botany)|ovaries]] and be referred to as Amaryllideae,<ref name=Brown/> and in 1813, [[de Candolle]] separated them by describing Liliacées <small>Juss.</small> and Amaryllidées <small>Brown</small> as two quite separate families.<ref name=Candolle/> However, in his comprehensive survey of the [[Flora of France]] ([[De Candolle system|Flore française]], 1805–1815) he divided Liliaceae into a series of ''Ordres'', and placed Galanthus into the Narcissi ''Ordre''.<ref name=Candollegal/> This relationship of Galanthus to either liliaceous or amaryllidaceaous taxa (see [[Taxonomy of Liliaceae]]) was to last for another two centuries until the two were formally divided at the end of the twentieth century.{{sfn|Meerow et al.|1999}} [[John Lindley|Lindley]] (1830) followed this general pattern, placing ''Galanthus'' and related genera such as ''[[Amaryllis]]'' and ''[[Narcissus (plant)|Narcissus]]'' in his Amaryllideae (which he called The Narcissus Tribe in English).<ref name=Lindley1830/> By 1853, the number of known plants was increasing considerably and he revised his schema in his last work, placing ''Galanthus'' together, and the other two genera in the modern [[Galantheae]] in tribe Amarylleae, order Amaryllidaceae, alliance Narcissales.<ref name=Lindley53Amarylleae/> These three genera have been treated together taxonomically by most authors, on the basis of an inferior ovary. As the number of plant species increased, so did the taxonomic complexity. By the time [[George Bentham|Bentham]] and [[Joseph Dalton Hooker|Hooker]] published their ''Genera plantarum'' (1862–1883){{sfn|Bentham|Hooker|1883}} ordo Amaryllideae<ref name=BHAmaryllideae/> contained five tribes, and tribe Amarylleae<ref name=BHAmarylleae/> three subtribes (see [[Bentham & Hooker system]]). They placed ''Galanthus'' in subtribe Genuinae and included three species.<ref name=BHgal/>