Hyacinth
genus of flowering plants
Hyacinthus is a genus of bulbous herbs and spring-blooming perennials. They are fragrant flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae and are commonly called hyacinths (). The genus is native predominantly to the Eastern Mediterranean region from the south of Turkey to the Palestine region, although naturalized more widely.
The name comes from Greek mythology: Hyacinth was killed by Zephyrus, the god of the west wind, jealous of his love for Apollo. He then transformed the drops of Hyacinth's blood into flowers.
Several species of Brodiaea, Scilla, and other plants that have flower clusters borne along the stalk that were formerly classified in the Liliaceae family 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 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 15–20 cm (6–8 in). Cultivars of H. orientalis have much denser flower spikes and are generally more robust.
The public source identifies “Hyacinth” as genus of flowering plants. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Hyacinth, genus and flowering.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q158758. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Hyacinth” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.