Kingdom Plantae Clade Monocots Family Asparagaceae Rank Species | Clade Angiosperms Order Asparagales Subfamily Scilloideae | |
Similar Chionodoxa sardensis, Tulipa cypria, Centaurea akamantis | ||
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 stamens 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 tepals, 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.