Sternbergia candida
Encyclopedia
Sternbergia candida is a bulbous
Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...

 flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 in the family Amaryllidaceae
Amaryllidaceae
Amaryllidoideae is the subfamily of flowering plants that takes its name from the genus Amaryllis. It is part of the family Amaryllidaceae, in order Asparagales...

, subfamily Amaryllidoideae, which is used as an ornamental
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...

. It has white flowers which appear in spring.

Description

Sternbergia candida is a rare plant which occurs only in south-west Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, where it grows at around 1100 m, on the edges of cedar woods. It was only discovered a few years before being named in 1979 (by Brian Mathew
Brian Mathew
Brian Fredrick Mathew MBE is a British botanist, born in the village of Limpsfield, Surrey, England. His particular area of expertise is bulbous plants, although he has contributed to other fields of taxonomy and horticulture...

 and Turhan Baytop
Turhan Baytop
Turhan Baytop was a Turkish botanist from Istanbul.-Notable publications:*Türkiye'de Bitkiler ile Tedavi, 1984, ISBN 9754200211*The Bulbous Plants of Turkey, 1984...

). The slightly twisted grey-green leaves appear in late winter to early spring and are about 1 cm wide. White flowers follow the leaves, normally in January to February in their native habitat, on stems up to 20 cm. The flowers may be scented.

Cultivation

Sternbergia candida is not reliably hardy in countries subject to frost and is then recommended for culture under the protection of at least a cold greenhouse or frame. It is propagated by bulb division.
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