Muscari azureum

Muscari azureum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asparagaceae
Subfamily:	Scilloideae
Genus:	Muscari
Subgenus:	Muscari subg. Pseudomuscari
Species:	M. azureum
Binomial name
Muscari azureum Fenzl [1]
Synonyms [1]
Bellevalia azurea(Fenzl) Boiss. Hyacinthella azurea(Fenzl) Chouard Muscari praecoxSiehe Pseudomuscari azureum(Fenzl) Garbari & Greuter

Muscari azureum (syn. Pseudomuscari azureum), the azure grape hyacinth, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Turkey. A bulbous perennial, it is grown in gardens for its spring flowers. The Latin specific epithet azureum means "bright blue", ^[2] a reference to its flower colour.

Description

Muscari azureum is a small plant, around 4–15 cm (1.6–5.9 in) high with two to three grey-green leaves per bulb. Up to 60 flowers are borne in Spring (March or April in the Northern Hemisphere) in a dense "spike" (raceme). Each flower is 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and bright blue in colour with a darker stripe along each of the lobes. A feature which distinguishes species placed in subgenus Pseudomuscari, like M. azureum, ^[3] from other groups of Muscari is that the mouth of the flower is not narrowed but forms an open bell-shape. It grows in alpine meadows in north and east Turkey. ^{[4] [5]}

Cultivation

M. azureum may be found in horticultural sources under the illegitimate name Hyacinthus azureus. The species is popular as a spring-flowering bulb; Brian Mathew describes it as "a delightful plant" for use in rock gardens or underneath shrubs. ^[4] It is frost-hardy and should be grown in full sun. ^[5] It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. ^{[6] [7]} There is a white cultivar, 'Album'. ^[4]

References

1. "Muscari azureum Fenzl". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 2025-09-08.
2. Harrison, Lorraine (2012), RHS Latin for gardeners, United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley, p. 224, ISBN   978-1-84533-731-5
3. Böhnert, Tim; Neumann, Michael; Quandt, Dietmar & Weigend, Maximilian (2023). "Phylogeny based generic reclassification of Muscari sensu lato (Asparagaceae) using plastid and genomic DNA". Taxon. 72 (2): 261–277. doi:10.1002/tax.12864.
4. Mathew, Brian (1987), The Smaller Bulbs, London: B.T. Batsford, ISBN   978-0-7134-4922-8 , p. 127 (as Muscari azureum)
5. Schauenberg, Paul (1965), The Bulb Book, London: Frederick Warne, OCLC   13373794 , p. 179 (as Hyacinthella azurea)
6. "Muscari azureum", RHS Plant Selector, retrieved 3 January 2021
7. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 65. Retrieved 9 April 2018.