''Hyacinthoides'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s 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 ...

, known as bluebells.

Systematics

''Hyacinthoides'' is classified 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 family Hyacinthaceae, named after the genus ''Hyacinth (plant), Hyacinthus ...

(now part of the family Asparagaceae, but formerly treated as a separate family, called Hyacinthaceae), alongside genera such as ''

Scilla ''Scilla'' () is a genus of about 30 to 80 species of bulb-forming perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. Sometimes called the squills in English, they are native to woodlands, subalpine ...

'' and '' Ornithogalum''. ''Hyacinthoides'' is differentiated from these other genera by the presence of two

bract 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 lo ...

s at the base of each flower, rather than one bract per flower or no bracts in the other genera.

Species

According to the ''World Checklist of Selected Plant Families'' , the genus contains 11

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

and one interspecific hybrid. The majority of species are distributed around the Mediterranean Basin, with only one species, ''

Hyacinthoides non-scripta ''Hyacinthoides non-scripta'' (formerly ''Endymion non-scriptus'' or ''Scilla non-scripta'') is a bulbous perennial plant found in Atlantic areas from the north-western part of the Iberian Peninsula to the British Isles, and also frequently used ...

'' (the familiar spring flower of bluebell woods in the British Isles and elsewhere) occurring further north in north-western Europe. ''Hyacinthoides'' species belong, according to analysis using

molecular phylogenetics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

, to three groups. ;''non-scripta''–''hispanica'' group *'' Hyacinthoides cedretorum'' (Pomel) Dobignard – Morocco to north Algeria *'' Hyacinthoides hispanica'' (Mill.) Rothm. (Spanish bluebell) – Portugal to west and south Spain *''

'' (L.) Chouard ex Rothm. (common bluebell) – western Europe to northern Portugal *'' Hyacinthoides paivae'' S.Ortiz & Rodr.Oubiña – north-west Spain to north-west Portugal * ''Hyacinthoides'' × ''massartiana'' Geerinck – hybrid between ''H. hispanica'' and ''H. non-scripta'', occurs in north-west Spain and elsewhere in Europe, including Great Britain ;''mauritanica'' group *'' Hyacinthoides flahaultiana'' (Emb.) Dobignard – south-west Morocco *'' Hyacinthoides mauritanica'' (Schousb.) Speta – south-west Portugal, north Morocco *'' Hyacinthoides reverchonii'' (Degen & Hervier) Speta – Spain (Sierra de Cazorla) ;''italica'' group *''

Hyacinthoides aristidis ''Hyacinthoides'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, known as bluebells. Systematics ''Hyacinthoides'' is classified in the subfamily Scilloideae (now part of the family Asparagaceae, but formerly treated as a separate f ...

'' (Coss.) Rothm. – Algeria to Tunisia *''

Hyacinthoides ciliolata ''Hyacinthoides'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, known as bluebells. Systematics ''Hyacinthoides'' is classified in the subfamily Scilloideae (now part of the family Asparagaceae, but formerly treated as a separate f ...

'' (Pomel) Rumsey – north-east Tunisia *''

Hyacinthoides italica ''Hyacinthoides italica'', the Italian bluebell or Italian squill, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant, perennial plant belonging to the family Asparagaceae. It is one of around 11 species in the genus ''Hyacinthoides'', others includi ...

'' (L.) Rothm. (Italian bluebell) – south-east France to north-west Italy *'' Hyacinthoides lingulata'' (Poir.) Rothm. – north-west Africa

References

External links

* {{Authority control Asparagaceae genera