Grape hyacinth

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Grape hyacinth
M. racemosum / neglectum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Hyacinthaceae Genus: Muscari Mill.
Species
about 40 including: Muscari armeniacum Muscari aucheri Muscari azureum Muscari botryoides Muscari comosum Muscari latifolium Muscari muscarimi (=M. moschatum) Muscari racemosum (= M. neglectum)

Grape hyacinths are a group of plants in the genus Muscari of plants native to Eurasia that produce spikes of blue flowers resembling bunches of grapes. There are about forty species.

Some species are among the earliest to bloom in the spring, and are planted both in flower beds as well as in lawns. They are planted as bulbs and tend to multiply quickly when planted in good soils.

Muscari comosum bulbs are pickled and eaten in Greece under the name βολβοί ([vol'vi] lit. 'bulbs') and in the Puglia region of Italy, under the names "lampascioni", "lampasciuni", "lamponi".

[edit] Images

Photo of Grape Hyacinth growing in the wild in Armenia.

A hoverfly clings to a grape hyacinth

Cultivated grape hyacinths growing in Cambridge Massachusetts, USA.

[edit] External links

• Muscaripages