Muscari neglectum

Muscari neglectum is a perennial bulbous plant, one of a number of species and genera known as grape hyacinth and in particular 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.

Grape hyacinth
Scientific 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

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 Mathew); 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. "Muscari neglectum". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  3. 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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