The spring snowflake was described by the renowned Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It is native to Central Europe and has become naturalized in other regions, such as the British Isles and North America.
The spring snowflake is much larger than its relative the snowdrop. The flowers are held on long stems and droop gracefully. Whereas snowdrops have three main petals and three more tiny inner ones, the six petals of snowflakes are all the same length, with conspicuous, green markings at their tips.