Muscari aucheri

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales

Familia: Asparagaceae
Subfamilia: Scilloideae
Tribus: Hyacintheae
Subtribus: Hyacinthinae
Genus: Muscari
Subgenus: M. subg. Muscari
Species: Muscari aucheri
Name

Muscari aucheri (Boiss.) Baker, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 11: 418. 1871.
Synonyms

Basionym
Botryanthus aucheri Boiss., Diagn. Pl. Orient. ser. 1, 5: 63. 1844.
Typus: Turkey A6 Tokat. Asiae minoris sylvis montanis prope Kikitar (Niksar), Aucher 5399 (Holotypus: G, isotypi: K, W)
Heterotypic
Muscari lingulatum Baker, J. Bot. 12: 6. 1874.
Muscari tubergenianum Hoog ex Turrill, Bot. Mag. 169: t. 195. 1952, J. Roy. Hort. Soc. 77: 367. 1952.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Asia-Temperate
Western Asia
Turkey.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Additional references

Davis, P.H. & Stuart, D.C. 1984. Muscari. Pp. 245–263 in Davis, P.H. (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands. Vol. 8 (Butomaceae to Typhaceae). Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 632 pp., ISBN 0-85224-494-0. Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2018. Muscari aucheri in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2018 Sep 27. Reference page.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Muscari aucheri in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.
International Plant Names Index. 2017. Muscari aucheri. Published online. Accessed: 26 December 2017.

Muscari aucheri, Aucher-Éloy grape hyacinth, is a species of flowering plant in the squill subfamily Scilloideae of the asparagus family Asparagaceae. It is a perennial bulbous plant, one of a number of species and genera known as grape hyacinths. Originally from Turkey, where it grows in grassy alpine areas, it is sometimes grown as an ornamental plant. The synonym M. tubergenianum (also spelt M. tubergianum) may be found in the horticultural literature.[2]

The Latin specific epithet aucheri honours the French pharmacist and botanist Pierre Martin Rémi Aucher-Éloy (1792-1838)[3] (one of numerous plants named for him).
Description

M. aucheri is usually less than 10 centimetres (3.9 in) tall, although taller forms are known. There are usually only two or three leaves per bulb, relatively wide for a muscari, which have a greyish green upper side and a hooded or boat-shaped tip. The flowers are arranged in a dense spike or raceme. The lower fertile flowers are bright blue with whitish lobes or teeth around the mouth of the more or less spherical flower; the upper sterile flowers are a paler blue or almost white.[2]
Cultivation

In cultivation it is said to be easy to grow but not to increase very rapidly. The plant sold under the name M. tubergenianum is more robust than the wild form, or possibly a hybrid.[2] This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.[4][5]

Numerous cultivars are available, such as 'Blue Magic', 'White Magic', 'Mount Hood' and 'Dark Eyes' (the last has also been listed as a cultivar of M. armeniacum or M. botryoides).
References

"Muscari aucheri", World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2011-11-19
Mathew, Brian (1987), The Smaller Bulbs, London: B.T. Batsford, ISBN 978-0-7134-4922-8, p. 126
Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for Gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 978-1845337315.
"RHS Plantfinder - Muscari aucheri". Retrieved 9 April 2018.
"AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 65. Retrieved 9 April 2018.