Muscari

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Muscari
Muscari Neglectum.jpg
M. neglectum
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Scilloideae
Genus: Muscari
Mill.
Type species
Muscari botryoides
Species

See text

Synonyms [1]
  • BotryanthusKunth
  • BotrycomusFourr.
  • BotryphileSalisb.
  • ComusSalisb.
  • CzekeliaSchur
  • EtheiranthusKostel.
  • EubotrysRaf. in Fl. Tellur. 3: 5 (1837), nom. superfl.
  • EubotrysRaf. in Autik. Bot.: 124, 139 (1840), nom. superfl.
  • LeopoldiaParl.
  • MoschareaSalisb.
  • PelotrisRaf.
  • PseudomuscariGarbari & Greuter

Muscari is a 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 hyacinth, but they should not be confused with hyacinths. A number of species of Muscari are used as ornamental garden plants.

Contents

Description

Brian Mathew says that many species of grape hyacinths are difficult to distinguish. [2] They usually have one or more narrow leaves which arise from a bulb. The flowers appear in the spring and form a spike or raceme, being held in a close or loose spiral around a central stalk. The flowers often become less tightly spaced as the flower matures. The flower colour varies from pale blue to a very dark blue, almost black in some cases (albino forms are also known). In some species, the upper flowers may be of a colour or shape different from the lower flowers. Individual flowers are composed of six fused tepals forming a spherical to obovoid shape, constricted at the end to form a mouth around which the ends of the tepals show as small lobes or "teeth", which may be of a color different from the rest of the tepal. [2]

Illustration of muscaris by Eugene-Jules Eudes, 1929 Muscaris-J.Eudes-06.JPG
Illustration of muscaris by Eugène-Jules Eudes, 1929

Taxonomy

The use of muscari as part of the name of at least some of the species included in the modern genus can be traced back to Carolus Clusius in 1601, long before the modern rules of botanical nomenclature were established. [3] In 1753, Carl Linnaeus used the name Hyacinthus muscari for the plant now called Muscari racemosum . [4] In 1754 Philip Miller formally established the genus Muscari according to modern rules of nomenclature. [3] The name muscari comes from the Greek muschos, musk, referring to the scent. [5] Miller did not designate a type species, although the etymology of the genus name points to the species Linnaeus called Hyacinthus muscari (a.k.a. Muscari racemosum). [3] Britton & Brown (1913), Garbari & Greuter (1970), Speta (1982), and Böhnert et al. (2023) accept Muscari botryoides as the type species. [6]

Classified in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, [7] the genus was formerly placed in the Liliaceae as a member of the tribe Hyacintheae. The genus was at one time divided into four groups or subgenera: Botryanthus, Pseudomuscari, Leopoldia, and Muscarimia. [2] Some authorities recognize Leopoldia and Pseudomuscari as separate genera. As of September 2025, Plants of the World Online continued to recognize Muscarimia as a separate genus, with two species – Muscarimia macrocarpa and M. muscari (syn. Muscari racemosum). [8]

Subgenera

In 2023, Böhnert et al. published the results of a phylogenetic analysis of Muscari and its segregate genera. They found Muscari a "very natural group", with five distinct clades, which they recognize as subgenera: [6]

The following cladogram shows how the subgenera are related: [6]

Muscari

M. subg. Muscarimia

M. subg. Pseudomuscari

M. subg. Muscari

M. subg. Pulchella

M. subg. Leopoldia

Species

As of July 2025, Plants of the World Online accepted 85 species, including species that have been placed in Leopoldia and Pseudomuscari, genera which are treated as synonyms, [1] but excluding Muscarimia. [8] Subgenus placements in the table are from Böhnert et al. (2023). [6]

SpeciesSubgenus
Muscari adilii M.B.Güner & H.DumanMuscari
Muscari albiflorum (Täckh. & Boulos) HosniLeopoldia
Muscari alpanicum Schchianunplaced
Muscari anatolicum Cowley & ÖzhatayMuscari
Muscari armeniacum H.J.VeitchMuscari
Muscari artvinense Demirci & E.KayaMuscari
Muscari atillae YıldırımMuscari
Muscari atlanticum Boiss. & Reut.Muscari
Muscari aucheri (Boiss.) BakerMuscari
Muscari azureum FenzlPseudomuscari
Muscari babachii Eker & KoyuncuLeopoldia
Muscari baeticum Blanca, Ruíz Rejón & Suár.-Sant.Muscari
Muscari bicolor Boiss.Leopoldia
Muscari botryoides (L.) Mill.Muscari
Muscari bourgaei BakerPulchella
Muscari caucasicum (Griseb.) BakerLeopoldia
Muscari cazorlanum C.Soriano, Rivas Ponce, R.Lozano & Ruíz RejónMuscari
Muscari coeleste FominPseudomuscari
Muscari coeruleum Losinsk.Muscari
Muscari commutatum Guss.Muscari
Muscari comosum (L.) Mill.Leopoldia
Muscari cycladicum P.H.Davis & D.C.StuartLeopoldia
Muscari discolor Boiss. & Hausskn.Muscari
Muscari dolichanthum Woronow & Tronunplaced
Muscari eburneum (Eig & Feinbrun) D.C.StuartLeopoldia
Muscari elmasii YıldırımLeopoldia
Muscari erdalii Özhatay & DemirciLeopoldia
Muscari erzincanicum EkerLeopoldia
Muscari fatmacereniae EkerMuscari
Muscari fertile RavennaMuscari
Muscari filiforme RavennaMuscari
Muscari forniculatum FominPseudomuscari
Muscari ghouschtchiense (Jafari & Maassoumi) BöhnertLeopoldia
Muscari grandifolium Bakerunplaced
Muscari gussonei (Parl.) NymanLeopoldia
Muscari haradjianii Briq. ex Rech.f.Leopoldia
Muscari heldreichii Boiss.Muscari
Muscari hermonense RavennaMuscari
Muscari hierosolymitanum RavennaPulchella
Muscari inconstrictum Rech.f.Pseudomuscari
Muscari inundatum Yıldırım & EkerMuscari
Muscari kerkis KarlénPulchella
Muscari kurdicum MaroofiPseudomuscari
Muscari latifolium J.KirkPulchella
Muscari lazulinum RavennaMuscari
Muscari longipes Boiss.Leopoldia
Muscari longistylum (Täckh. & Boulos) HosniLeopoldia
Muscari macbeathianum Kit TanMuscari
Muscari maritimum Desf.Leopoldia
Muscari massayanum C.GrunertLeopoldia
Muscari matritense Ruíz Rejón, Pascual, C.Ruíz Rejón, Valdés & J.L.Oliv.Leopoldia
Muscari microstomum P.H.Davis & D.C.StuartPulchella
Muscari mirum SpetaLeopoldia
Muscari muglaense Eker, H.Duman & YıldırımLeopoldia
Muscari nazimiyense Yıld. & Kılıçunplaced
Muscari neglectum Guss. ex Ten. & Sangiov.Muscari
Muscari neumannii (Böhnert & Lobin) BöhnertLeopoldia
Muscari olivetorum Blanca, Ruíz Rejón & Suár.-Sant.Muscari
Muscari pallens (M.Bieb.) Fisch.Muscari
Muscari pamiryigidii EkerMuscari
Muscari parviflorum Desf.Pseudomuscari
Muscari pseudomuscari (Boiss. & Buhse) WendelboPseudomuscari
Muscari pseudopallens Eker, Yıldırım & Armağanunplaced
Muscari pulchellum Heldr. & Sartori ex Boiss.Pulchella
Muscari sabihapinariae Eroglu, Pinar & FidanMuscari
Muscari salah-eidii (Täckh. & Boulos) HosniLeopoldia
Muscari sandrasicum KarlénMuscari
Muscari savranii Uysal & DoguLeopoldia
Muscari serpentinicum Yıldırım, Altioglu & PirhanMuscari
Muscari sintenisii Freynunplaced
Muscari sivrihisardaghlarense Yıld. & B.SelviMuscari
Muscari spreitzenhoferi (Heldr.) Vierh.Leopoldia
Muscari stenanthum FreynMuscari
Muscari tabrizianum (Jafari) BöhnertLeopoldia
Muscari tauricum Demirci, Özhatay & E.KayaMuscari
Muscari tavoricum RavennaPseudomuscari
Muscari tenuiflorum TauschLeopoldia
Muscari tijtijense (Jafari) BöhnertLeopoldia
Muscari turcicum Uysal, Ertugrul & DuralPulchella
Muscari tuzgoluense Yıld.Muscari
Muscari vanense Uysalunplaced
Muscari vuralii Bagci & DoguMuscari
Muscari wallii Rech.f.Leopoldia
Muscari weissii FreynLeopoldia
Muscari zagricum Eker, Alipour & Majidiunplaced

Böhnert et al. placed two species in Muscari subg. Muscarimia that as of September 2025 Plants of the World Online placed in the genus Muscarimia  : [6] [8]

The names of some of the species are somewhat confused, especially in the horticultural literature. Thus the name M. racemosum is commonly found as an incorrect synonym for M. neglectum, with M. muscarimi or M. moschatum being used for the true M. racemosum. [9] Muscari fatmacereniae was recently described from Turkey. [10]

Formerly placed here

Distribution

The genus Muscari originated in the Old World, and is native to the Mediterranean basin, central and Southern Europe, Northern Africa, Western, Central and Southwest Asia. It has become naturalized elsewhere, including Northern Europe and the United States. [8]

Cultivation

Some species are among the earliest garden flowers to bloom in the spring. They are planted as bulbs and tend to multiply quickly (naturalise) when planted in good soils. They prefer well drained sandy soil, that is acid to neutral and not too rich. Naturally found in woodlands or meadows, they are commonly cultivated in lawns, borders, rock gardens and containers. They require little feeding or watering in the summer, and sun or light shade.[ citation needed ]

The UK National Collection of Muscari is held by Richard Hobbs at his Witton Lane garden in Little Plumstead, Norfolk. [12]

Cultivars

References

  1. 1 2 "Muscari Mill". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Mathew, Brian (1987), The Smaller Bulbs, London: B.T. Batsford, ISBN   978-0-7134-4922-8 , pp. 124–130
  3. 1 2 3 Garbari, F. & Greuter, W. (1970), "On the Taxonomy and Typification of Muscari Miller (Liliaceae) and Allied Genera, and on the Typification of Generic Names", Taxon, 19 (3): 329–335, Bibcode:1970Taxon..19..329G, doi:10.2307/1219056, JSTOR   1219056
  4. ↑ WCSP (2011), World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , retrieved 2011-11-14, search for "Muscari racemosum"
  5. ↑ Hyam, R. & Pankhurst, R.J. (1995), Plants and their names : a concise dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN   978-0-19-866189-4 , p. 330
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Böhnert, T., Neumann, M., Quandt, D. and Weigend, M. (2023), Phylogeny based generic reclassification of Muscari sensu lato (Asparagaceae) using plastid and genomic DNA. Taxon, 72: 261-277. https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.12864
  7. ↑ Stevens, P.F., Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Asparagales: Scilloideae
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Muscarimia Kostel. ex Losinsk". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  9. ↑ See, e.g., Mathew 1987
  10. ↑ Eker, İsmai̇l (2019-03-14). "Muscari fatmacereniae (Asparagaceae, Scilloideae), a new species from southern Anatolia" . Phytotaxa. 397 (1): 99–106. Bibcode:2019Phytx.397...99E. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.397.1.10. ISSN   1179-3163. S2CID   92768403.
  11. ↑ "Bellevalia paradoxa (Fisch. & C.A. Mey.) Boiss". powo.science.kew.org. World Checklist. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  12. ↑ "The National Collection of Muscari at Witton Lane". Norfolk Plant Heritage. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  13. ↑ Anon. (October 2011), "Plant forum: new and interesting plants", The Garden, 136 (10): 11
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