Hyacinthus is a small genus of bulbous, spring-blooming perennial, fragrant flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. These are commonly called hyacinths. The genus is native to the eastern Mediterranean. Several species of Brodiaea, Scilla, and other plants that were formerly classified in the lily family and have flower clusters borne along the stalk also have common names with the word "hyacinth" in them. Hyacinths should also not be confused with the genus Muscari, which are commonly known as grape hyacinths.
Description
Hyacinthus grows from bulbs, each producing around four to six linear leaves and one to three spikes or racemes of flowers. In the wild species, the flowers are widely spaced with as few as two per raceme in H. litwinovii and typically six to eight in H. orientalis, which grows to a height of. Cultivars of H. orientalis have much denser flower spikes and are generally more robust.
Systematics
The genus nameHyacinthus was attributed to Joseph Pitton de Tournefort when used by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It is derived from a Greek name used for a plant by Homer, ὑάκινθος, the flowers supposedly having grown up from the blood of a youth of this name accidentally killed by the god Zephyr. Linnaeus defined the genus Hyacinthus widely to include species now placed in other genera of the subfamily Scilloideae, such as Muscari and Hyacinthoides. Hyacinthus was formerly the type genus of the separate family Hyacinthaceae; prior to that the genus was placed in the lily family Liliaceae.
Species
Three species are placed within the genus Hyacinthus:
The Dutch, or common hyacinth of house and garden culture was so popular in the 18th century that over 2,000 cultivars were grown in the Netherlands, its chief commercial producer. This hyacinth has a single dense spike of fragrant flowers in shades of red, blue, white, orange, pink, violet or yellow. A form of the common hyacinth is the less hardy and smaller blue- or white-petalled Roman hyacinth of florists. These flowers need indirect sunlight and should be watered moderately.
Toxicity
Hyacinth bulbs are poisonous; they contain oxalic acid. Handling hyacinth bulbs can cause mild skin irritation. Protective gloves are recommended. Some members of the plant subfamily Scilloideae are commonly called hyacinths but are not members of the genus Hyacinthus and are edible; one example is the tassel hyacinth, which forms part of the cuisine of some Mediterranean countries.
Culture
Hyacinths are often associated with spring and rebirth. The hyacinth flower is used in the Haft-Seen table setting for the Persian New Year celebration, Nowruz, held at the Spring Equinox. The Persian word for hyacinth is سنبل. The hyacinth appears in the first section of T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land during a conversation between the narrator and the "hyacinth girl" that takes place in the spring. In Roman Catholic tradition, the hyacinth represents prudence, constancy, desire of heaven and peace of mind; and is derived from the story of Hyacinthus, upon whose death the flower sprang forth.
Gallery
Color
The color of the blue flower hyacinth plant varies between 'mid-blue', violet blue and bluish purple. Within this range can be found Persenche, which is an American color name, for a hyacinth hue. The color analysis of Persenche is 73% ultramarine, 9% red and 18% white.
