Grape hyacinth
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Scilloideae
Genus: Muscari
Species:
M. neglectum
Binomial name
Muscari neglectum
Synonyms
  • Muscari racemosum var. neglectum (Guss. ex Ten.) St.-Lag.
  • Hyacinthus neglectus (Guss. ex Ten.) E.H.L.Krause

Muscari neglectum is a perennial bulbous flowering plant in the asparagus family Asparagaceae. Members of this genus are commonly known as grape hyacinths, and M. neglectum is known as common grape hyacinth[1] or starch grape hyacinth.[2] Muscari are perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia. They produce spikes of dense, commonly blue, urn-shaped flowers. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental plant, for example, in temperate climates as a spring bulb.

Description

Muscari neglectum is a herbaceous plant growing from a bulb. The flower stems are 5–20 cm tall. The flowers are arranged in a spike or raceme and are dark blue with white lobes at their tips (teeth); there may be a cluster of paler sterile flowers at the top of the spike.[3] The raceme is 2–6 cm long. The fruit is a 3-celled capsule with two ovules in each cell.[4]

It is a very well known species in cultivation (being described as the "common" grape hyacinth by Brian Mathew);[3] it increases rapidly and can become invasive.

Taxonomy

The name was attributed to Giovanni Gussone by Michele Tenore in a list of plants of the Neapolitan area published in 1842. The species has a confused nomenclatural history; no fewer than 46 full species names are listed as synonyms in the Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.[5] The name M. racemosum is commonly found as a synonym for M. neglectum in the horticultural literature,[6] although the true M. racemosum Mill. is a different species.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Grey-Wilson, Christopher; Mathew, Brian & Blamey, Marjorie (1981), Bulbs : the bulbous plants of Europe and their allies, London: Collins, ISBN 978-0-00-219211-8, p. 114
  2. ↑ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Muscari neglectum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  3. 1 2 Mathew, Brian (1987), The Smaller Bulbs, London: B.T. Batsford, ISBN 978-0-7134-4922-8, p. 127
  4. ↑ Cullen, James; Knees, Sabina G.; Cubey, H. Suzanne (2011). The European Garden Flora Flowering Plants: A Manual for the Identification of Plants Cultivated in Europe, Both Out-of-Doors and Under Glass. The Cambridge University Press. p. 124. ISBN 978-0521761475.
  5. ↑ WCSP (2011), World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2011-11-14, search for "Muscari neglectum"
  6. ↑ See, e.g., Mathew 1987, p. 127
  7. ↑ WCSP (2011), World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2011-11-14, search for "Muscari racemosum"
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