Hyacinth

Hyacinthus grows from bulbs, each producing around 4-6 narrow untoothed leaves and 1-3 spikes or racemes of flowers. In wild species, the flowers are widely spaced, with as few as 2 per raceme in H. litwinovii and typically 6-8 in H. orientalis which grows to a height of . Cultivars of H. orientalis have much denser flower spikes and are generally more robust. ==Taxonomy==

'' The genus name Hyacinthus was attributed to Joseph Pitton de Tournefort when used by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The original wild plant known as hyakinthos to Homer has been identified with Scilla bifolia, among other possibilities. Linnaeus defined the genus Hyacinthus widely to include species now placed in other genera of the subfamily Scilloideae, such as Muscari (e.g. his Hyacinthus botryoides) and Hyacinthoides (e.g. his Hyacinthus non-scriptus). 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: • Hyacinthus transcaspicus – north-east Iran to southern Turkmenistan Some authorities place H. litwonovii and H. transcaspicus in the related genus Hyacinthella, which would make Hyacinthus a monotypic genus. ==Distribution==

The genus Hyacinthus is considered native to the eastern Mediterranean from southern Turkey to the region of Palestine, including Lebanon and Syria, and on through Iraq and Iran to Turkmenistan. It is widely naturalized elsewhere, including Europe (Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Sardinia, Sicily and former Yugoslavia), Cyprus, North America (California, Pennsylvania, Texas), central Mexico, the Caribbean (Cuba, Haiti) and Korea. ==Cultivation==

The Dutch, or common hyacinth, of house and garden culture (H. orientalis, native to Southwest Asia) 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. ==Toxicity==

The inedible bulbs contain oxalic acid and may cause mild skin irritation. Protective gloves are recommended when handling. 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 (''''), meaning 'cluster'. The name ('') was used in Ancient Greece for at least two distinct plants, which have variously been identified as Scilla bifolia or Orchis quadripunctata and Consolida ajacis'' (larkspur). Plants known by this name were sacred to Aphrodite. 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, H. orientalis represents prudence, constancy, desire of heaven, and peace of mind. American rock band The Doors released a song entitled "Hyacinth House" which appeared on their 1971 album L.A. Woman, the last to feature lead singer Jim Morrison. ==Colour==

The colour 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 (probably from French), for a hyacinth hue. The colour analysis of Persenche is 73% ultramarine, 9% red and 18% white. ==Unicode==

File:P1130470 Hyacinthus orientalis Common hyacinth (Hyacinthaceae).JPG|Wild-type Hyacinthus orientalis in cultivation File:HyacinthPink.jpg|Pink cultivar File:Hyacinths - floriade canberra.jpg|Hyacinth cultivars in Floriade, Canberra File:Floriade canberra02.jpg|Hyacinth cultivars in Floriade, Canberra File:White and purple hyacinths.JPG|White and purple hyacinth cultivars in Detroit, Michigan File:Young boy picking hyacinths in Normandy - 1993.jpg|Young boy picking hyacinths in Normandy in France File:Blue Hyacinth Cross Section of flowers.jpg|Cross section of Hyacinth orientalis cultivar ==See also==