Odysseus' Savior
"Galanthus is a small genus of about 20 species in the family Amaryllidaceae commonly known as Snowdrops. Most flower in winter, before the Spring Equinox (21st March in the Northern Hemisphere) but certain species flower in late autumn and early spring.
Snowdrops are sometimes confused with their relatives, snowflakes, which are Leucojum and Acis species.
Some snowdrop species are threatened in their wild habitats, and in most countries it is now illegal to collect bulbs from the wild. Under CITES regulations, international trade in any quantity of Galanthus, whether bulbs, live plants or even dead ones, is illegal without a CITES permit. This applies to hybrids and named cultivars as well as species. CITES does, however, allow a limited trade in wild-collected bulbs of just three species (G. nivalis, G, elwesii and G. woronowii) from Turkey and Georgia.
It was suggested by Duvoisin in 1983 that the mysterious magical herb moly that appears in Homer's Odyssey is actually snowdrop. An active substance in snowdrop is called galantamine, which, as anticholinesterase, could have acted as an antidote to Circe's poisons.[10] Galantamine (or galanthamine) can be helpful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, though it is not a cure; the substance also occurs naturally in daffodils and other narcissi." wikipedia.org
Odysseus' Savior
"Galanthus is a small genus of about 20 species in the family Amaryllidaceae commonly known as Snowdrops. Most flower in winter, before the Spring Equinox (21st March in the Northern Hemisphere) but certain species flower in late autumn and early spring.
Snowdrops are sometimes confused with their relatives, snowflakes, which are Leucojum and Acis species.
Some snowdrop species are threatened in their wild habitats, and in most countries it is now illegal to collect bulbs from the wild. Under CITES regulations, international trade in any quantity of Galanthus, whether bulbs, live plants or even dead ones, is illegal without a CITES permit. This applies to hybrids and named cultivars as well as species. CITES does, however, allow a limited trade in wild-collected bulbs of just three species (G. nivalis, G, elwesii and G. woronowii) from Turkey and Georgia.
It was suggested by Duvoisin in 1983 that the mysterious magical herb moly that appears in Homer's Odyssey is actually snowdrop. An active substance in snowdrop is called galantamine, which, as anticholinesterase, could have acted as an antidote to Circe's poisons.[10] Galantamine (or galanthamine) can be helpful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, though it is not a cure; the substance also occurs naturally in daffodils and other narcissi." wikipedia.org