starch grape hyacinth
Family
LiliaceaeScientific Name
Muscari neglectumOther Common Names:
common grape hyacinth
Synonyms (former Scientific Names):
Muscari racemosum
Muscari atlanticum
Habit
A bulbous perennial with leaves that resemble onion and are sometimes confused as a grass. They produce spikes of dense purple and blue flowes that resemble grapes.
Leaves
Leaves are linear in outline, from 5 to 16 inches in length and growing only at the base of the plant. All leaves are hollow.
Identifying Characteristics
Resemble onion or garlic but does not have the odor of these species. It has very attractive purple cluster of flowers that grows to about 1 ft in height.
Flower Seed Head
Plants bloom from May to early June. Flower are purple and occur in cluster at the end of leafless stem. Individual flowers are 4 to 7 mm long, and 2 1/2 to 4 mm wide, bottle-shaped and drooping downward.
Seed Fruit
A capsule that is 7 to 8 mm long.
Where Found
It prefers fertile, dry or moist soils and cannot grow in full shade. Often utilized as a springtime garden plant. It has escaped cultivation to become a weed of landscapes and some winter cereals in virginia.
Growth Habit
prostrate and nonwoody
Thorns or Spines
not present
Approximate Flower Diameter
larger
Dominant Flower Color
Varies:
blue,
purple
Flower Symmetry
not symmetrical
Leaf Hairs
no hairs
Leaf Shape
needle
Leaf Margin
entire
Leaf Structure
simple
Leaf Stalk
none
Stem Hairs
no hairs
Stem Cross Section
round or oval
Milky Sap
not present
Ochrea
not present
Leaf Arrangement
folded in bud
Root Structure
bulb/
Life Cycle
perennial
Plant Type
Grass-like