Hyacinthoides italica

Hyacinthoides italica, the Italian bluebell or Italian squill, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant belonging to the family Asparagaceae.[2][3]

Italian bluebell
Inflorescence of a wild Hyacinthoides italica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Scilloideae
Genus: Hyacinthoides
Species:
H. italica
Binomial name
Hyacinthoides italica
(L.) Chouard ex Rothm.
Synonyms[1]
  • Endymion italicus (L.) Chouard
  • Hyacinthus italicus (L.) E.H.L.Krause
  • Ornithogalum spicatum Gaterau
  • Scilla bertolonii Duby
  • Scilla byzantina Poir.
  • Scilla italica L.
  • Scilla pallida Salisb.
  • Scilla pauciflora Link ex Schult. & Schult.
  • Scilla purpurea Mill.
  • Somera italica (L.) Salisb.

It is one of around 11 species in the genus Hyacinthoides, others including the common bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) in northwestern Europe, and the Spanish bluebell (Hyacinthoides hispanica) further west in the Iberian Peninsula.[4]

Description

Hyacinthoides italica is up to 10–40 centimetres (3.9–15.7 in) tall. The stem is leafless. It has 3-6 basal lance-shaped leaves, 4–15 millimetres (0.16–0.59 in) wide and 7–15 centimetres (2.8–5.9 in) long. The inflorescence is a dense, conical or pyramid-like raceme with 5-30 bright violet-blue star-like flowers. The flowers have two narrow bracts. Flowering period extends from February to May.[5][6][7]

It is in some respects intermediate between the common and Spanish species in having slender leaves (as in H. non-scripta or even slenderer), but a dense raceme of flowers (as in H. hispanica; not sparse and one-sided as in H. non-scripta).

H. italica is sometimes used as an ornamental plant. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[8][9]

Distribution

This species is native to the central Mediterranean region, in northwestern Italy, in western Liguria, in southern France, and in northeastern Spain.[10]

Habitat

It can be found in olive groves, in dry and stony meadows and in clearings of forests at an elevation up to 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level.

  • Illustration from The Botanical Magazine, Plate 663
  • Plants of Hyacinthoides italica in the botanic garden of Berne
  • Flowers of Hyacinthoides italica
  • Close-up of a flower

References
  1. Catalogue of life
  2. International Plant Names Index
  3. Biolib
  4. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2011-07-05, search for "Hyacinthoides"
  5. Acta Plantarum
  6. Den virtuella floran
  7. PIGNATTI S., 1982. Flora d'Italia, Edagricole, Bologna
  8. "Hyacinthoides italica". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  9. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 50. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  10. Altervista
  • Huxley, A. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening vol. 2: 604. Macmillan.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.