Pseudomuscari azureum

Pseudomuscari azureum (syn. Muscari 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 specific epithet azureum means "bright blue",[2] a reference to its flower colour.

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

Description

Pseudomuscari 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 the genus Pseudomuscari from the related 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.[3][4]

Cultivation

P. azureum may be found in horticultural sources under the illegitimate name Hyacinthus azureus. It is still widely referenced under its previous name Muscari azureum. 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.[3] It is frost-hardy and should be grown in full sun.[4] Under the name Muscari azureum it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[5][6] There is a white cultivar, 'Album'.[3]

References
  1. "Pseudomuscari azureum", World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2011-12-01
  2. Harrison, Lorraine (2012), RHS Latin for gardeners, United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley, p. 224, ISBN 978-1-84533-731-5
  3. Mathew, Brian (1987), The Smaller Bulbs, London: B.T. Batsford, ISBN 978-0-7134-4922-8, p. 127 (as Muscari azureum)
  4. Schauenberg, Paul (1965), The Bulb Book, London: Frederick Warne, OCLC 13373794, p. 179 (as Hyacinthella azurea)
  5. "Muscari azureum", RHS Plant Selector, retrieved 3 January 2021
  6. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 65. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
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