Hyacinthoides italica

Last updated

Hyacinthoides italica
Liliaceae - Hyacinthoides italica.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Scilloideae
Genus: Hyacinthoides
Species:
H. italica
Binomial name
Hyacinthoides italica
Synonyms [1]
  • Endymion italicus(L.) Chouard
  • Hyacinthus italicus(L.) E.H.L.Krause
  • Ornithogalum spicatumGaterau
  • Scilla bertoloniiDuby
  • Scilla byzantinaPoir.
  • Scilla italicaL.
  • Scilla pallidaSalisb.
  • Scilla paucifloraLink ex Schult. & Schult.
  • Scilla purpureaMill.
  • Somera italica(L.) Salisb.

Hyacinthoides italica, the Italian bluebell or Italian squill, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant belonging to the family Asparagaceae. [2] [3]

Contents

It is one of around 11 species in the genus Hyacinthoides , others including the common bluebell ( Hyacinthoides non-scripta ) in northwestern Europe, and the Spanish bluebell ( Hyacinthoides hispanica ) further west in the Iberian Peninsula. [4]

Description

Hyacinthoides italica is up to 10–40 centimetres (3.9–15.7 in) tall. The stem is leafless. It has 3-6 basal lance-shaped leaves, 4–15 millimetres (0.16–0.59 in) wide and 7–15 centimetres (2.8–5.9 in) long. The inflorescence is a dense, conical or pyramid-like raceme with 5-30 bright violet-blue star-like flowers. The flowers have two narrow bracts. Flowering period extends from February to May. [5] [6] [7]

It is in some respects intermediate between the common and Spanish species in having slender leaves (as in H. non-scripta or even slenderer), but a dense raceme of flowers (as in H. hispanica; not sparse and one-sided as in H. non-scripta).

Hyacinthoides italica is used as an ornamental plant. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [8] [9]

Distribution

This species is native to the central Mediterranean region, in northwestern Italy, in southern France, and in northeastern Spain. [10]

Habitat

It can be found in olive groves, in dry and stony meadows and in clearings of forests at an elevation up to 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level.

Related Research Articles

<i>Hyacinthoides non-scripta</i> Species of flowering plant

Hyacinthoides non-scripta is a bulbous perennial plant, found in Atlantic areas from north-western Spain to the British Isles, and also frequently used as a garden plant. It is known in English as the common bluebell or simply bluebell, a name which is used in Scotland to refer to the harebell, Campanula rotundifolia. In spring, H. non-scripta produces a nodding, one-sided inflorescence of 5–12 tubular, sweet-scented violet–blue flowers, with strongly recurved tepals, and 3–6 long, linear, basal leaves.

Bluebell, Bluebells, or Bluebelle may refer to:

<i>Laburnum</i> Genus of plants

Laburnum, sometimes called golden chain or golden rain, is a genus of two species of small trees in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are Laburnum anagyroidescommon laburnum and Laburnum alpinumalpine laburnum. They are native to the mountains of southern Europe from France to the Balkans.

<i>Scilla siberica</i> Species of flowering plant

Scilla siberica, the Siberian squill or wood squill, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to southwestern Russia, the Caucasus, and Turkey. Despite its name, it is not native to Siberia.

<i>Campanula rotundifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula rotundifolia, the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. In Scotland, it is often known simply as bluebell. It is the floral emblem of Sweden where it is known as small bluebell. It produces its violet-blue, bell-shaped flowers in late summer and autumn.

<i>Hyacinthoides hispanica</i> Species of flowering plant

Hyacinthoides hispanica, the Spanish bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial native to the Iberian Peninsula. It is one of around a dozen species in the genus Hyacinthoides, others including the common bluebell in northwestern Europe, and the Italian bluebell further east in the Mediterranean region.

<i>Hyacinthoides</i> Genus of flowering plants

Hyacinthoides is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, known as bluebells.

<i>Salvia splendens</i> Species of flowering plant

Salvia splendens, the scarlet sage, is a tender herbaceous perennial plant native to Brazil, growing at 2,000 to 3,000 m elevation where it is warm year-round and with high humidity. The wild form, rarely seen in cultivation, reaches 1.3 m (4.3 ft) tall. Smaller cultivars are very popular as bedding plants, seen in shopping malls and public gardens all over the world.

<i>Veronicastrum virginicum</i> Species of flowering plant

Veronicastrum virginicum, or Culver's root, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. It is native to the eastern United States and south-eastern Canada. Growing to 200 cm (79 in) tall by 45 cm (18 in) broad, it is an erect herbaceous perennial with slender racemes of white or occasionally pink or purple flowers in summer.

<i>Campanula rapunculoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula rapunculoides, known by the common names creeping bellflower, rampion bellflower, rover bellflower, garden bluebell, creeping bluebell, purple bell, garden harebell, and creeping campanula, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Campanula, belonging to the family Campanulaceae. Native to central and southern Europe and west Asia,. in some parts of North America it is an extremely invasive species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornamental bulbous plant</span> Herbaceous perennials with underground storage parts grown for ornamental purposes

Ornamental bulbous plants, often called ornamental bulbs or just bulbs in gardening and horticulture, are herbaceous perennials grown for ornamental purposes, which have underground or near ground storage organs. Botanists distinguish between true bulbs, corms, rhizomes, tubers and tuberous roots, any of which may be termed "bulbs" in horticulture. Bulb species usually lose their upper parts during adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat or winter cold. The bulb's storage organs contain moisture and nutrients that are used to survive these adverse conditions in a dormant state. When conditions become favourable the reserves sustain a new growth cycle. In addition, bulbs permit vegetative or asexual multiplication in these species. Ornamental bulbs are used in parks and gardens and as cut flowers.

<i>Acacia pravissima</i> Species of legume

Acacia pravissima, commonly known as Ovens wattle, Oven wattle, wedge-leaved wattle and Tumut wattle, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is an evergreen shrub native to Victoria, the South West Slopes and Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia.

<i>Buddleja madagascariensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Buddleja madagascariensis, the smokebush or Madagascan butterfly bush, is a species of flowering plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae. It is a substantial evergreen shrub with fragrant yellow flowers through autumn and winter.

<i>Hyacinthoides lingulata</i> Species of flowering plant

Hyacinthoides lingulata is a species of bulbous plant that lives in North Africa, from Morocco to Tunisia. It is widespread in short grass and agricultural fields, flowering in autumn when the rains begin. The flowers are generally paler than the common bluebell, but have a similar scent. Its leaves are not fully hardy, and it is usually grown under glass in the British Isles, where it requires a dry rest in summer and watering from early September until it dies back in May.

<i>Rhamnus alaternus</i> Species of flowering plant

Rhamnus alaternus is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae, known by the common names Italian buckthorn or Mediterranean buckthorn. It is a hardy medium-sized evergreen shrub with fragrant flowers.

<i>Muscari aucheri</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae

Muscari aucheri, Aucher-Éloy grape hyacinth, is a species of flowering plant in the squill subfamily Scilloideae of the asparagus family Asparagaceae. It is a perennial bulbous plant, one of a number of species and genera known as grape hyacinths. Originally from Turkey, where it grows in grassy alpine areas, it is sometimes grown as an ornamental plant. The synonym M. tubergenianum may be found in the horticultural literature.

Hyacinthoides paivae is a species of bluebell in the genus Hyacinthoides native to the north-western part of the Iberian Peninsula. It lives chiefly in shady woodlands, and grows up to 45 cm (18 in) tall, producing a cluster of up to 18 pale blue flowers in spring. It was formally described in 1996, having previously been identified as belonging to the related species H. italica.

<i>Hyacinthoides <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> massartiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Hyacinthoides × massartiana is a hybrid species produced by crosses between the common bluebell, H. non-scripta and the Spanish bluebell, H. hispanica. H. × massartiana fills a spectrum of variation which connects the two parental species.

<i>Cytisus nigricans</i> Species of legume

Cytisus nigricans, the black broom, is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Faboideae of the family Fabaceae. Growing 3–5 ft (0.91–1.52 m) tall, it is a slender deciduous shrub with erect branches. Masses of brilliant yellow, slightly fragrant pea-like flowers appear in long racemes on the current year's growth in summer and early autumn.

References

Notes

  1. Catalogue of life- Accepted scientific name: Hyacinthoides italica (L.) Rothm. (accepted name) www.catalogueoflife.org, accessed 16 May 2021
  2. Hyacinthoides italica (L.) Rothm., Feddes Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 53: 15 (1944). International Plant Names Index www.ipni.org, accessed 16 May 2021
  3. species: Italian Bluebell Hyacinthoides italica (L.) Rothm. Biolib, www.biolib.cz, accessed 16 May 2021
  4. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , retrieved 2011-07-05, search for "Hyacinthoides"
  5. Hyacinthoides italica (L.) Rothm. {ID 4091} - Scilla della riviera Acta Plantarum, www.actaplantarum.org, accessed 16 May 2021
  6. Italiensk blåstjärna Hyacinthoides italica (L.) Rothm. Den virtuella floran linnaeus.nrm.se, accessed 16 May 2021
  7. PIGNATTI S., 1982. Flora d'Italia, Edagricole, Bologna
  8. "Hyacinthoides italica". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  9. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 50. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  10. Hyacinthoides italica (L.) Rothm. luirig.altervista.org, accessed 16 May 2021

General references