''Hyacinthoides'' 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 ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

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 ...

, known as bluebells.

Systematics

''Hyacinthoides'' is classified in the subfamily Scilloideae (now part of the family Asparagaceae, but formerly treated as a separate family, called Hyacinthaceae), alongside genera such as ''

Scilla ''Scilla'' () is a genus of about 30 to 80 species of bulb-forming perennial herbaceous plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. Sometimes called the squills in English, they are native to woodlands, subalpine meadows, and sea ...

'' and ''

Ornithogalum ''Ornithogalum'' is a genus of perennial plants mostly native to southern Europe and southern Africa belonging to the family Asparagaceae. Some species are native to other areas such as the Caucasus. Growing from a bulb, species have linear ba ...

''. ''Hyacinthoides'' is differentiated from these other genera by the presence of two

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s at the base of each flower, rather than one bract per flower or no bracts in the other genera.

Species

According to the ''World Checklist of Selected Plant Families'' , the genus contains 11

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

and one interspecific hybrid. The majority of species are distributed around the

Mediterranean Basin 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 w ...

, with only one species, ''

Hyacinthoides non-scripta ''Hyacinthoides non-scripta'' (formerly ''Endymion non-scriptus'' or ''Scilla non-scripta'') is a bulbous perennial plant, found in Atlantic areas from north-western Spain to the British Isles, and also frequently used as a garden plant. It is ...

'' (the familiar spring flower of bluebell woods in the British Isles and elsewhere) occurring further north in north-western Europe. ''Hyacinthoides'' species belong, according to analysis using

molecular phylogenetics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

, to three groups. ;''non-scripta''–''hispanica'' group *''

Hyacinthoides cedretorum ''Hyacinthoides cedretorum'' is a species of bluebell that grows in North Africa. Description ''Hyacinthoides cedretorum'' differs from other species of ''Hyacinthoides'' in the strongly revolute (curved backwards) form of the tepals, with the ...

'' (Pomel) Dobignard – Morocco to north Algeria *''

Hyacinthoides hispanica ''Hyacinthoides hispanica'' ( syn. ''Endymion hispanicus'' or ''Scilla hispanica''), the Spanish bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial native to the Iberian Peninsula. It is one of around a dozen species in the genus ''Hyacinthoides'' ...

'' (Mill.) Rothm. (Spanish bluebell) – Portugal to west and south Spain *''

'' (L.) Chouard ex Rothm. (common bluebell) – western Europe to northern Portugal *'' Hyacinthoides paivae'' S.Ortiz & Rodr.Oubiña – north-west Spain to north-west Portugal * ''Hyacinthoides'' × ''massartiana'' Geerinck –

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

between ''H. hispanica'' and ''H. non-scripta'', occurs in north-west Spain and elsewhere in Europe, including Great Britain ;''mauritanica'' group *'' Hyacinthoides flahaultiana'' (Emb.) Dobignard – south-west Morocco *'' Hyacinthoides mauritanica'' (Schousb.) Speta – south-west Portugal, north Morocco *'' Hyacinthoides reverchonii'' (Degen & Hervier) Speta – Spain (Sierra de Cazorla) ;''italica'' group *'' Hyacinthoides aristidis'' (Coss.) Rothm. – Algeria to Tunisia *'' Hyacinthoides ciliolata'' (Pomel) Rumsey – north-east Tunisia *''

Hyacinthoides italica ''Hyacinthoides italica'', the Italian bluebell or Italian squill, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant belonging to the family Asparagaceae. It is one of around 11 species in the genus ''Hyacinthoides'', others including the common blu ...

'' (L.) Rothm. (Italian bluebell) – south-east France to north-west Italy *'' Hyacinthoides lingulata'' (Poir.) Rothm. – north-west Africa

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q159311 Asparagaceae genera