Kingdom Plantae Clade Monocots Family Asparagaceae Rank Species | Clade Angiosperms Order Asparagales Subfamily Scilloideae | |
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Similar Scilla forbesii, Chionodoxa luciliae, Chionodoxa, Scilla mischtschenkoana, Scilla bifolia | ||
Chionodoxa sardensis, the lesser glory-of-the-snow, is a bulbous perennial from west Turkey flowering in early spring. After flowering, it goes into dormancy until the next spring.
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. sardensis resembles C. forbesii, but has a less distinct white 'eye'. Each bulb produces two-three leaves, up to 13.6 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, and at most one flowering stem, up to 14 cm long. The flowers are produced in a loose pyramidal to one-sided raceme, with up to 22 flowers per stem. Each flower is up to 2.5 cm across, with individual tepals 1.5 cm long. The tepals are violet-blue, somewhat paler at the base, producing a paler 'eye' at the centre of the flower. The stamen bases are white.
