Chalus grape hyacinth

Description

Pseudomuscari chalusicum, the Chalus grape hyacinth, is a species of flowering plant in the squill subfamily Scilloideae of the asparagus family Asparagaceae, native to Iran. Chalus is a county in northern Iran. Growing to about 15 cm (5.9 in) in height, it is a bulbous perennial with floppy, curved leaves sitting close to the ground, and small clusters of bell-shaped flowers on erect stems, appearing in mid-spring. The flower colour is pale blue at the tip, shading downwards to a darker blue. Unlike some other Muscari species, it does not spread rapidly. It is still known under its synonym Muscari pseudomuscari. In cultivation in the United Kingdom it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. It requires a sunny position in well-drained soil, and is hardy in most places in the UK - down to about −15 cm (−5.9 in). Pseudomuscari is a genus of bulbous perennials in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. They were formerly included in the genus Muscari (as the Pseudomuscari group, section or subgenus). Species of Pseudomuscari have flowers in shades of pale or bright blue, and are small plants with dense flower spikes or racemes. A feature which distinguishes them from Muscari is the bell-shaped flower which is not constricted at the mouth. One species, P. azureum, is popularly grown in gardens as an ornamental Spring-flowering plant. The genus was formerly included in Muscari. The group of species now placed in Pseudomuscari was separated off as a section within Muscari by A.S. Losina-Losinskaja in a 1935 publication and as a subgenus by D.C. Stuart in 1965, but neither name was validly published, and the genus was first formally named by Fabio Garbari and Werner Greuter in 1970.