''Muscari neglectum'' is a
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...
bulbous
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the asparagus family
Asparagaceae. Members of this genus are commonly known as grape hyacinths, and ''M. neglectum'' is known as common grape hyacinth or starch grape hyacinth. ''
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
Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...
, 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.
[, p. 127] The raceme is 2–6 cm long. The fruit is a 3-celled capsule with two ovules in each cell.
It is a very well known species in cultivation (being described as the "common" grape hyacinth by
Brian Mathew
Brian Frederick Mathew MBE, VMH is a British botanist, born in the village of Limpsfield, Surrey, England. His particular area of expertise is bulbous plants, particularly ornamental bulbous plants, although he has contributed to other fiel ...
);
it increases rapidly and can become invasive.
Taxonomy
The name was attributed to
Giovanni Gussone
Giovanni Gussone (8 February 1787, Villamaina – 14 January 1866, Naples) was an Italian academic and botanist, remembered for his work in plant taxonomy and in particular his research in Sicilian flora.
He studied medicine in Naples, where he c ...
by
Michele Tenore
Michele Tenore (5 May 1780 – 19 July 1861) was an Italian botanist active in Naples, Italy.
Tenore studied at the University of Naples, receiving his medical degree in 1800. Then he was a friend of botanists Domenico Maria Leone Cirillo (1739â ...
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.
[, search for "Muscari neglectum"] The name ''M. racemosum'' is commonly found as a synonym for ''M. neglectum'' in the horticultural literature,
[See, e.g., ] although the true
''M. racemosum'' Mill. is a different species.
[, search for "Muscari racemosum"]
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q163062
neglectum
Plants described in 1842
Flora of Lebanon