''Leopoldia'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
bulb
In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...
ous
perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
s in the family
Asparagaceae
Asparagaceae, known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, ''Asparagus officinalis''. Those who live in the temperate c ...
, subfamily
Scilloideae. The genus is widespread around the
Mediterranean region
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and wa ...
and neighboring lands, from the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
to
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
[
''Leopoldia'' species were formerly included in the genus '']Muscari
''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 (a name which is ...
'' (as the ''Leopoldia'' group or subgenus), and like muscari are often called grape hyacinths.[, pp. 126] Their flowers are arranged in a spike or raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
with those at the top more brightly coloured than those lower down.
Description
''Leopoldia'' can be distinguished from ''Muscari'' by being generally taller plants and having more open spikes or raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
s of flowers, caused by the individual flowers being spaced further apart. The lower fertile flowers are relatively long, often urn-shaped or tubular and are white, yellow, green or brown but never blue; they have distinct 'shoulders' close to the mouth of the flower, which is smaller than the general diameter of the flower and surrounded by small lobes or "teeth" formed by the ends of the fused tepal
A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...
s. The colour of the lobes is a diagnostic feature in identifying species. At the top of the raceme there is usually a tuft of bright violet, blue or pink sterile flowers.[
]
Taxonomy
In 1819, William Herbert was the first to use ''Leopoldia'' as the name of a genus; it was proposed as a provisional name (''nomen provisorium'') for the genus he later (in 1821) called ''Hippeastrum
''Hippeastrum'' () is a genus of about 90 species and over 600 hybrids and cultivars of perennial herbaceous bulbous plants. They generally have large fleshy bulbs and tall broad leaves, generally evergreen, and large red or purple flowers. ...
''. Although ''Leopoldia'' was subsequently validated (i.e. it became the correct name for ''Hippeastrum''), this was overlooked, and ''Hippeastrum'' rather than ''Leopoldia'' was used for the genus of New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
amaryllids. In 1845, Filippo Parlatore
Filippo Parlatore (Palermo, 8 August 1816 – Florence, 9 September 1877) was an Italian botanist.
He studied medicine at Palermo, but practiced only for a short time, his chief activity being during the cholera epidemic of 1837. Although at tha ...
independently proposed ''Leopoldia'' for a group of species he separated from ''Muscari
''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 (a name which is ...
''. In 1970, Fabio Garbari and Werner Greuter
Werner Rodolfo Greuter, (born February 27, 1938) in Genoa, Italy, as a Swiss national, is a botanist. He is the chair of the Editorial Committee for the ''International Code of Botanical Nomenclature'' (''ICBN'') - the ''Tokyo Code'' (1994) and ...
proposed that Parlatore's ''Leopoldia'' should be conserved and Herbert's ''Leopoldia'' rejected. This was accepted and ''Leopoldia'' Parl. is now a conserved name (''nomen conservandum''), and so the correct name for the genus described here.
Species
, the ''World Checklist of Selected Plant Families'' accepts 12 species:
Uses
''L. comosa'' bulbs are pickled and eaten in Iran under the name of "moosir" (موسیر) (or 'Shallot yogurt'), in Greece under the name of "volvoi" (βολβοί), meaning "bulbs", and in the Basilicata
it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman)
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and Apulia
it, Pugliese
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region of Italy, under the names of "lampascioni",Ark of Taste
The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distin ...
catalogue of heritage foods.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1659441
Scilloideae
Asparagaceae genera
Edible plants