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Leucojum aestivum

species of plant

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 14, 2026
Entity authorityQ159119
Source-derived summary

Leucojum aestivum, commonly called the summer snowflake, giant snowflake, Loddon lily (see River Loddon § Loddon lily) and rarely snowbell and dewdrop among others, is a plant species widely cultivated as an ornamental. It is native to most of Europe from Spain and Ireland to Ukraine, with the exception of Scandinavia, Russia, Belarus and the Baltic countries. It is also considered native to Turkey, Iran and the Caucasus. It is naturalized in Denmark, South Australia, New South Wales, Nova Scotia and much of the eastern United States.

Description

Leucojum aestivum is a perennial bulbous plant, generally 35–60 cm (14–24 in) tall, but some forms reach 90 cm (35 in). Its leaves, which are well developed at the time of flowering, are strap-shaped, 5–20 mm (0.2–0.8 in) wide, reaching to about the same height as the flowers. The flowering stem (scape) is hollow and has wings with translucent margins. The pendant flowers appear in late spring and are borne in umbels of usually three to five, sometimes as many as seven. The flower stalks (pedicels) are of different lengths, 25–70 mm (1.0–2.8 in) long. The flowers are about 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in) in diameter and have six white tepals, each with a greenish mark just below the tip.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Leucojum aestivum” as species of plant. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Leucojum, aestivum and species.

Editorial reviewUseful for establishing the present vocabulary of the subject while preserving a route back to the evidence on which that vocabulary rests. The current 207-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Leucojum, aestivum and species providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Leucojum aestivum”, the useful work is to connect “species of plant” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q159119. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Leucojum aestivum”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Leucojum aestivum primary sources, Leucojum aestivum archive and Leucojum research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Leucojum aestivum”?
  2. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
  3. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Leucojum aestivum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.