Muscari neglectum

Grape hyacinth
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
clade:	Angiosperms
clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asparagaceae
Subfamily:	Scilloideae
Genus:	Muscari
Species:	M. neglectum
Binomial name
Muscari neglectum Guss. ex Ten.
Synonyms
Muscari racemosum var. neglectum (Guss. ex Ten.) St.-Lag. Hyacinthus neglectus (Guss. ex Ten.) E.H.L.Krause

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] It is sometimes grown as an ornamental plant.

Description

M. 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; there may be a cluster of paler sterile flowers at the top of the spike.^[2] The raceme is 2–6 cm long. The fruit is a 3-valved capsula.^{[citation needed]}

It is a very well known species in cultivation (being described as the "common" Grape Hyacinth by Mathew); it increases rapidly and can become too invasive.^[2]

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.^[3] The name M. racemosum is commonly found as a synonym for M. neglectum in the horticultural literature,^[4] although the true M. racemosum Mill. is a different species.^[3]

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. ^ ^{a b} Mathew, Brian (1987), The Smaller Bulbs, London: B.T. Batsford, ISBN 978-0-7134-4922-8 , p. 127
3. ^ ^{a b} WCSP (2011), World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/home.do, retrieved 2011-11-14 , search for "Muscari neglectum"
4. ^ See, e.g., Mathew 1987, p. 127

External links

• "Muscari neglectum". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=503892.