''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 ...

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 Scilloideae (named after the genus ''Scilla'', "squill") is a subfamily of bulbous plants within the family ''Asparagaceae''. Scilloideae is sometimes treated as a separate family Hyacinthaceae, named after the genus ''Hyacinthus''. Scilloideae or ...

. 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 ...

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

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 ...

independently proposed ''Leopoldia'' for a group of species he separated from ''

''. In 1970,

Fabio Garbari Fabio Garbari (born 1937) is an Italian botanist who has a degree in Biological Science from the University of Pisa awarded in 1958. In 2000–2002 he was a professor in the Department of Botanical Science (') of the University of Pisa. In 2019 h ...

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: # ''

Leopoldia bicolor ''Leopoldia'' is a genus of bulbous perennial plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. The genus is widespread around the Mediterranean region and neighboring lands, from the Canary Islands to Iran. ''Leopoldia'' species were f ...

'' (Boiss.) Eig & Feinbrun, 1947 - Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria # ''

Leopoldia caucasica ''Leopoldia'' is a genus of bulbous perennial plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. The genus is widespread around the Mediterranean region and neighboring lands, from the Canary Islands to Iran. ''Leopoldia'' species were ...

'' (Griseb.) Losinsk., 1935 - Caucasus, Turkey, Iraq, Iran # ''

Leopoldia comosa ''Leopoldia comosa'' (syn. ''Muscari comosum'') is a perennial bulbous plant. Usually called the tassel hyacinth or tassel grape hyacinth, it is one of a number of species and genera also known as grape hyacinths. It is found in rocky ground and ...

'' (L.) Parl., 1847 - Mediterranean and Europe from Canary Islands to Iran, north to Great Britain, Denmark, Poland, Ukraine; naturalized in South Australia and in parts of the USA # ''

Leopoldia cycladica ''Leopoldia'' is a genus of bulbous perennial plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. The genus is widespread around the Mediterranean region and neighboring lands, from the Canary Islands to Iran. ''Leopoldia'' species were f ...

'' (P.H.Davis & D.C.Stuart) Garbari, 1972 - Greece including Greek Islands # ''

Leopoldia eburnea ''Leopoldia'' is a genus of bulbous perennial plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. The genus is widespread around the Mediterranean region and neighboring lands, from the Canary Islands to Iran. ''Leopoldia'' species were f ...

'' Eig & Feinbrun, 1947 - Egypt, Palestine, Israel # ''

Leopoldia ghouschtchiensis ''Leopoldia'' is a genus of bulbous perennial plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. The genus is widespread around the Mediterranean region and neighboring lands, from the Canary Islands to Iran. ''Leopoldia'' species were f ...

'' Jafari & Maassoumi, 2011 - Iran # '' Leopoldia gussonei'' Parl., 1857 - Sicily # ''

Leopoldia longipes ''Leopoldia'' is a genus of bulbous perennial plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. The genus is widespread around the Mediterranean region and neighboring lands, from the Canary Islands to Iran. ''Leopoldia'' species were f ...

'' (Boiss.) Losinsk., 1935 - from the Caucasus south to Sinai and the Persian Gulf # ''

Leopoldia maritima ''Leopoldia'' is a genus of bulbous perennial plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. The genus is widespread around the Mediterranean region and neighboring lands, from the Canary Islands to Iran Iran, officiall ...

'' (Desf.) Parl., 1845 - North Africa and southwest Asia from Morocco to Iran; also Crimea # '' Leopoldia tenuiflora'' (Tausch) Heldr., 1878 - from Germany and Italy east to Ukraine, Iran, Saudi Arabia # '' Leopoldia tijtijensis'' Jafari, 2012 - Iran # '' Leopoldia weissii'' Freyn, 1878 Greece, Turkey

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) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

and

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

region of Italy, under the names of "lampascioni", "lampasciuni", and "lamponi". They are included in the

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 distinct ...

catalogue of heritage foods.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1659441 Scilloideae Asparagaceae genera Edible plants