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{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
{{Redirect|Hyacinthus||}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = Hyacinth - Anglesey Abbey.jpg
|image_caption = Cultivar of ''Hyacinthus orientalis''
|taxon = Hyacinthus
|authority = [[Joseph Pitton de Tournefort|Tourn.]] ex [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = See text
|type_species = ''[[Hyacinthus orientalis]]''
}}

'''''Hyacinthus''''' {{IPAc-en|ˌ|h|aɪ|ə|ˈ|s|ɪ|n|θ|ə|s}}<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Hyacinthus}}</ref> is a [[genus]] of [[bulb]]ous herbs and spring-blooming [[Perennial plant|perennials]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://homeguides.sfgate.com/hyacinths-perennials-63933.html|title = Are Hyacinths Perennials?}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gardenguides.com/12446829-are-hyacinths-perennials.html|title = Are Hyacinths Perennials?}}</ref> They are fragrant flowering plants in the family [[Asparagaceae]], subfamily [[Scilloideae]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Stevens |first=P.F. |title=Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Asparagales: Scilloideae |url=https://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/apweb/orders/asparagalesweb.htm#Hyacinthaceae|website=Mobot.org|access-date=7 November 2017}}</ref> and are commonly called '''hyacinths''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|aɪ|ə|s|ɪ|n|θ|s}}). The genus is native predominantly to the [[Eastern Mediterranean]] region from the south of [[Turkey]] to the [[Palestine (region)|Palestine region]], although naturalized more widely.<ref name=POWO_24372-1>{{Cite POWO|title=''Hyacinthus'' Tourn. ex L..|id=24372-1|access-date=2023-11-11|mode=cs1}}</ref>

The name comes from [[Greek mythology]]: [[Hyacinth (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 [[Inflorescence|flower clusters]] borne along the [[Scape (botany)|stalk]] that were formerly classified in the [[Liliaceae|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 [[raceme]]s of flowers. In wild species, the flowers are widely spaced, with as few as 2 per raceme in ''[[Hyacinthus litwinovii|H.&nbsp;litwinovii]]'' and typically 6-8 in ''[[Hyacinthus orientalis|H.&nbsp;orientalis]]'' which grows to a height of {{convert|15|–|20|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}. [[Cultivar]]s of ''H.&nbsp;orientalis'' have much denser flower spikes and are generally more robust.<ref>{{Citation|year=1993 |editor-last=Beckett |editor-first=K. |title=Encyclopaedia of Alpines : Volume 1 (A–K) |location=Pershore, UK |publisher=AGS Publications |isbn=978-0-900048-61-6 }} pp. 656–657.</ref>

==Taxonomy==
[[File:Hyacinthus transcaspicus GotBot 2015.JPG|left|thumb|''[[Hyacinthus transcaspicus]]'']]
The genus name ''Hyacinthus'' was attributed to [[Joseph Pitton de Tournefort]] when used by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1753.<ref name=POWO_24372-1/> It is derived from a Greek name used for a plant by [[Homer]], {{lang|grc|ὑάκινθος}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|hyákinthos}}), the flowers supposedly having grown up from the blood of a [[hyacinth (mythology)|youth of this name]] killed by the god [[Zephyrus|Zephyr]] out of jealousy.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Hyam |first1=R. |last2=Pankhurst |first2=R.J. |year=1995 |title=Plants and their names : a concise dictionary |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-866189-4 |name-list-style=amp }}</ref> The original wild plant known as ''hyakinthos'' to Homer has been identified with ''[[Scilla bifolia]]'',<ref name=Rave00>{{Citation |last=Lindsell |first=Alice |title=Was Theocritus a botanist? }} in {{Citation |last1=Raven |first1=John E. |date=2000 |editor1-last=Raven |editor1-first=Faith |editor2-last=Stearn |editor2-first=William T. |editor3-last=Jardine |editor3-first=Nicholas |editor4-last=Frasca-Spada |editor4-first=Marina |title=Plants and Plant Lore in Ancient Greece |publication-place=Oxford |publisher=Leopard's Head Press |isbn=978-0-904920-40-6 |page=27 |name-list-style=amp }}, p. 68</ref> 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 ''[[Muscari botryoides|Hyacinthus botryoides]]'')<ref name="WCSP_278581">{{Citation |contribution=Hyacinthus botryoides |title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=278581 |access-date=2013-03-20 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and ''[[Hyacinthoides]]'' (e.g. his ''[[Hyacinthoides non-scripta|Hyacinthus non-scriptus]]'').<ref name="WCSP_278654">{{Citation |contribution=Hyacinthus non-scriptus |title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=278654 |access-date=2013-03-20 |archive-date=2012-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423110153/http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=278654 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''Hyacinthus'' was formerly the type genus of the separate family Hyacinthaceae; prior to that, the genus was placed in the lily family [[Liliaceae]].<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.tolweb.org/Hyacinthaceae |title=Hyacinthaceae |publisher=Tolweb.org |access-date=2011-03-20 }}</ref>

===Species===
Three species are placed within the genus ''Hyacinthus'':<ref name=POWO_24372-1/>
* ''[[Hyacinthus litwinovii]]'' – north-east Iran to southern Turkmenistan
* ''[[Hyacinthus orientalis]]'' - Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Turkey; common, Dutch or garden hyacinth<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:536789-1|title= Hyacinthus orientalis}}</ref>
* ''[[Hyacinthus transcaspicus]]'' – north-east Iran to southern Turkmenistan

Some authorities place ''H.&nbsp;litwonovii'' and ''H.&nbsp;transcaspicus'' in the related genus ''[[Hyacinthella]]'',<ref name=Czer95>{{Citation |last=Czerepanov |first=S.K. |year=1995 |title=Vascular Plants of Russia and Adjacent States (the Former USSR) |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-45006-5 }}, cited in {{Citation |title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=The Board of Trustees of the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] |url=https://apps.kew.org/wcsp/home.do |access-date=2011-10-07 }}, under ''Hyacinthella litwinovii'' and ''Hyacinthella transcaspica''</ref> which would make ''Hyacinthus'' a [[monotypic]] genus.

==Distribution==
The genus ''Hyacinthus'' is considered native to the eastern Mediterranean from southern [[Turkey]] to the [[Palestine (region)|region of Palestine]], including [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]], and on through [[Iraq]] and [[Iran]] to [[Turkmenistan]].<ref name=POWO_24372-1/> 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.<ref name=POWO_24372-1/>

==Cultivation==
The Dutch, or common hyacinth, of house and [[garden]] culture (''H.&nbsp;orientalis'', native to [[Western Asia|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 [[Aroma compound|fragrant]] [[flower]]s 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. These flowers need full sunlight and should be watered moderately.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What are the Light Needs for Roman hyacinth in Gardening? (Type, Characteristics, and Warning Signals) |url=https://www.picturethisai.com/care/sunlight/Bellevalia_romana.html |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=PictureThis |language=en}}</ref>

==Toxicity==
The inedible bulbs contain [[oxalic acid]] and may cause mild skin irritation. Protective gloves are recommended when handling.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8507.html |title=Home Forcing of Hyacinths |work=[[North Carolina State University]] Horticulture Information |access-date=2013-03-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404065021/http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8507.html |archive-date=2013-04-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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 [[Leopoldia comosa|tassel hyacinth]], which forms part of the cuisine of some Mediterranean countries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-04-27 |title=Traditional Foods of Puglia Italy-Cooking Lampascioni Hyacinth Bulbs |url=https://italian-connection.com/living-in-italy/traditional-foods-of-puglia-italy-cooking-lampascioni-hyacinth-bulbs/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=Italian Connection |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Culture==
[[File:Nowruz Sonbol (Hyacinth).JPG|thumb|right|Nowruz Sonbol (Hyacinth)]]
Hyacinths are often associated with spring and rebirth.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hyacinthus {{!}} Youth, Beauty & Tragedy {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hyacinthus |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The hyacinth flower is used in the [[Haft-Seen]] table setting for the [[Persian people|Persian]] New Year celebration, [[Nowruz]], held at the [[Spring equinox (Northern Hemisphere)|spring equinox]]. The [[Persian language|Persian]] word for hyacinth is {{Lang|fa|سنبل}} (''{{Lang|fa|sonbol}}''), meaning 'cluster'.

The name {{Lang|grc|ὑάκινθος}} (''{{Lang|grc|hyakinthos}}'') 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).{{sfnp|Raven|2000|p=27}} Plants known by this name were sacred to [[Aphrodite]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kurke |first1=Leslie |title=Coins, bodies, games, and gold : the politics of meaning in archaic Greece |date=1999 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |isbn=0691007365 |page=192}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47311/the-waste-land|title=The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot|date=2018-09-05|website=Poetry Foundation|language=en-us|others=Poetry Foundation|access-date=2018-09-05}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|<poem>
You gave me hyacinths first a year ago;
"They called me the hyacinth girl."
—Yet when we came back, late, from the Hyacinth garden,
Your arms full, and your hair wet, I could not
Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither
Living nor dead, and I knew nothing,
Looking into the heart of light, the silence.
</poem>}}

In [[Roman Catholic]] tradition, ''H. orientalis'' represents prudence, constancy, desire of heaven, and peace of mind.<ref name="catholictradition">{{cite web |title=Signs and Symbols |url=http://www.catholictradition.org/Saints/signs4.htm |website=catholictradition.org |access-date=2019-01-22}}</ref>

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',<ref>Mathew, Brian (1987), The Smaller Bulbs, London: B.T. Batsford, {{ISBN|978-0-7134-4922-8}}</ref> [[indigo|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://people.csail.mit.edu/jaffer/Color/M.htm |title=(M) |access-date=2015-09-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150917005032/http://people.csail.mit.edu/jaffer/Color/M.htm |archive-date=2015-09-17 }}</ref>
The colour analysis of Persenche is 73% [[ultramarine]], 9% [[red]] and 18% [[white]].<ref>Funk & Wagnell's New Standard Dictionary (1942), under [[spectrum]] color list.</ref>

==Unicode==
🪻

==Gallery==
<gallery>
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|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
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Tekhelet]] - meaning "bluish violet" or "blue" in Hebrew, was translated as hyakinthos (Greek: ὑακίνθος, "hyacinth").

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Coccoris, Patricia (2012) ''The Curious History of the Bulb Vase''. Published by Cortex Design.

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [https://www.flowerbulbs.cornell.edu/newsletter/No.%204%20Hyacinth%20Perennializing.pdf Hyacinth perennialization Research Newsletter Number 4. (October 2004) Flower Bulb Research Program Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXm5cwRmDAs Grow up and blossoming of Hyacinth]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q158758}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Scilloideae]]
[[Category:Asparagaceae genera]]
[[Category:Garden plants of Asia]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort]]