''Bellevalia'' is a genus of plants in the family

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae (), known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, '' Asparagus officinalis''. This family includes both ...

, subfamily

Scilloideae Scilloideae (named after the genus ''Scilla'', "squill") is a subfamily of bulbous plants within the family ''Asparagaceae''. Scilloideae is sometimes treated as a separate family Hyacinthaceae, named after the genus ''Hyacinth (plant), Hyacinthus ...

. It was first described as a genus in 1808. The approximately 65 species are found from the Mediterranean: Turkey (about 12 species) and Israel (12 species), to central Asia: Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan (three species).

Description

''Bellevalia'' species are

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

plants. As

geophytes A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...

, they form bulbs with a membranous sheath ("tunic"). The simple, parallel-veined leaves are basal. Grape-like

inflorescences In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis ( pe ...

grow terminally on smooth cylindrical flower stems. The numerous flowers are located in the

axils A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, f ...

of small, membranous

bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also loo ...

. The hermaphroditic flowers are triple. The six identically shaped bracts are one-third to one-half their length and deformed tubular, bell-shaped or funnel-shaped in form. The color of the bracts ranges from white to cream to brown or more rarely from blue to purple. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

capsule is triangular in cross section with winged edges. The

seeds In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the ...

are more or less spherical, rarely elongated and glossy.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Bellevalia'' was first described in 1808 by

Philippe-Isidore Picot de Lapeyrouse Philippe-Isidore Picot de Lapeyrouse or La Peirouse, Baron de Lapeyrouse (20 October 1744 in Toulouse – 18 October 1818 in château de Lapeyrouse-Fossat, Lapeyrouse, Haute-Garonne) was a French naturalist. He was particularly interested in ...

. The genus name honors the French botanist Pierre Richer de Belleval (1564-1632). A

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

for ''Bellevalia'' is ''Strangweja''

Bertol. Antonio Bertoloni (February 8, 1775 in Sarzana – April 17, 1869 in Bologna) was an Italian physician and botanist who made extensive studies of Italian plants. He also collected notable samples of Central American flora. Biography He studied m ...

The

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; '' homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or '' homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciat ...

genus ''Bellevalia''

Roem. Johann Jacob Roemer (8 January 1763, Zürich – 15 January 1819) was a Swiss physician and professor of botany in Zürich, Switzerland. He was also an entomologist. With Austrian botanist Joseph August Schultes, he published the 16th edition of ...

& Schult. is a synonym of the genus ''

Richeria ''Richeria'' is a genus of flowering plant belonging to the family Phyllanthaceae first described as a genus in 1797. It is native to Central America, South America, and the West Indies. ''Richeria'' is dioecious, with male and female flowers o ...

Vahl Vahl is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Christian-Friedrich Vahl (born 1955), German cardiac surgeon * Emanuel Vahl (born 1938), Ukrainian-Israeli composer *Herbert-Ernst Vahl, German SS general *Jens Vahl (1796–1854), Danis ...

from the family

Phyllanthaceae Phyllanthaceae is a Family (biology), family of flowering plants in the eudicot Order (biology), order Malpighiales. It is most closely related to the family Picrodendraceae.Kenneth J. Wurdack and Charles C. Davis. 2009. "Malpighiales phylogeneti ...

. Some species formerly belonged to the genus '' Hyacinthus''. The genus ''Bellevalia'' is placed in the tribe

Hyacintheae Hyacintheae is a flowering plant tribe in the subfamily Scilloideae Scilloideae (named after the genus ''Scilla'', "squill") is a subfamily of bulbous plants within the family ''Asparagaceae''. Scilloideae is sometimes treated as a separate fam ...

in the subfamily

within the family

Species

According to the

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) was an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected p ...

,R. Govaerts, B. J. M. Zonneveld, S. A. Zona: World checklist of Asparagaceae. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
''Search on Bellevalia''
Access date 8 July 2014 there were 65 ''Bellevalia'' species described in 2014: Recently described species include: * '' Bellevalia iranica'' Alipour, Majidi, & Eker described in 2025 from Iran ;Species formerly included moved to ''

Alrawia ''Alrawia'' is a genus of bulbous flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae (also treated as the family Hyacinthaceae). It is native to north-eastern Iraq and Iran. Description Species of ''Alrawia'' grow from bulbs co ...

Althenia ''Althenia'' is a genus of aquatic plants of the family Potamogetonaceae. This has long been a group of two species in the Mediterranean Europe and South Africa, but in 2016 was revised to include an Australasian relative, ''Lepilaena''. The genu ...

Hyacinthella

Leopoldia ''Leopoldia'' is a genus of bulbous perennial plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. The genus is widespread around the Mediterranean region and neighboring lands, from the Canary Islands to Iran. ''Leopoldia'' species were f ...

Muscari ''Muscari'' is a genus (biology), genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia that produce spikes of dense, most commonly blue, urn-shaped flowers resembling bunches of grapes in the spring. The common name for the genus is grape hyacint ...

Pseudomuscari ''Pseudomuscari'' is a genus of bulbous perennials in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. They were formerly included in the genus ''Muscari'' (as the Pseudomuscari group, section or subgenus). Species of ''Pseudomuscari'' have flowe ...

References

Bibliography

* S. I. Ali: ''Flora of Pakistan. Volume 214: Hyacinthaceae.'' University of Karachi, Department of Botany, Karachi 2005, S. 2
''Bellevalia'' online

GRIN

Gustav Heynhold: Nomenclator botanicus hortensis: Oder, Alphabetische und synonymische Aufzählung der in den Gärten Europa's Cultivirten Gewächse, nebst Angabe ihres Autors, ihres Vaterlandes, ihrer Dauer und Cultur. Band 2. Arnoldische Buchhandlung, Dresden und Leipzig 1846, p. 64

Cristian Brullo, Salvatore Brullo, S. Pasta: Bellevalia pelagica (Hyacinthaceae), a new species from the Islet of Lampione (Pelagian Archipelag, Sicily). In: Edinburgh Journal of Botany. vol. 66, No. 1, 2009, p. 65–75

A. Jafari, A. A. Maassoumi: A New Species of Bellevalia (Liliaceae/Hyacinthaceae) from Iran. In: Edinburgh Journal of Botany. vol 65, No. 3, 2008, p. 469–473

External links

Flora of Israel

Pacific Bulb Society

International Bulb Society
{{Taxonbar, from=Q148948 Asparagaceae genera Scilloideae