Galanthus nivalis 'The Alburgh Claw'

Galanthus nivalis 'The Alburgh Claw' is one of the most extraordinary snowdrops I grow. Rather than the usual, standard snowdrop flower, each flower is made up of lots of narrow, curving segments, streaked with green and curling in at the tips like a little claw, and no two flowers are ever exactly the same. The plant in my collection has huge flowers compared with any other spiky snowdrop I have seen, and it is an absolutely wonderful plant.

The monograph records that it was found by Rob Marshall at Alburgh in 1993, growing among a mixed group of single and double G. nivalis. Alburgh is a Norfolk parish, but its postal address is Bungay in Suffolk, which is why some books place it in Suffolk.

Rob has kindly shared the story of how it got its name. When he proudly pointed it out to his friend, the late Barrie Carson Turner, Barrie took one look and cried "The Claw! The Claw!" 'Claw' was Barrie's own word for the spiky snowdrops, which he had used for decades, long before anyone called them 'spikies'. Rob suggested there and then that it should be called 'The Alburgh Claw', and Barrie was happy to agree, as the two of them usually settled between them what a new find should be called.

Brian Ellis is always very keen to make sure that the 'The' is used whenever 'The Alburgh Claw' is listed or described, and rightly so, as that is how Rob and Barrie named it. I understand there may be some question over whether the name is entirely correct under the rules of plant naming (it is the 'The' at the start that causes some difference of opinion, I believe), but from my point of view this plant will always be 'The Alburgh Claw', and I believe everyone should accept that name.

I've found it can be a little slow to bulk up, but it is well worth the wait. Here in the North West it normally flowers during February.

Sources
Some of the background here comes from Bishop, Davis & Grimshaw, Snowdrops: A Monograph of Cultivated Galanthus, Rob Marshall (information provided to me directly by Brian Ellis and subsequently confirmed by Rob Marshall) and Robert Marshall, 'Obituary – Barrie Turner' (HPS Galanthus Group newsletter, Autumn 2023).