The name comes fromGreek mythology:Hyacinth was killed by Zephyrus, the god of the west wind, jealous of his love forApollo. He then transformed the drops of Hyacinth's blood into flowers.
Several species ofBrodiaea,Scilla, and other plants that haveflower clusters borne along thestalk that were formerly classified in theLiliaceae family also have common names with the word "hyacinth" in them. Hyacinths should also not be confused with the genusMuscari, which are commonly known as grape hyacinths.
Hyacinthus grows from bulbs, each producing around 4-6 narrow untoothed leaves and 1-3 spikes orracemes of flowers. In wild species, the flowers are widely spaced, with as few as 2 per raceme inH. litwinovii and typically 6-8 inH. orientalis which grows to a height of 15–20 cm (6–8 in).Cultivars ofH. orientalis have much denser flower spikes and are generally more robust.[6]
The genusHyacinthus is considered native to the eastern Mediterranean from southernTurkey to theregion of Palestine, includingLebanon andSyria, and on throughIraq andIran toTurkmenistan.[5] 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.[5]
The Dutch, or common hyacinth, of house andgarden culture (H. orientalis, native toSouthwest Asia) was so popular in the 18th century that over 2,000 cultivars were grown in theNetherlands, its chief commercial producer. This hyacinth has a single dense spike offragrantflowers 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.[14]
The inedible bulbs containoxalic acid and may cause mild skin irritation. Protective gloves are recommended when handling.[15]
Some members of the plant subfamily Scilloideae are commonly called hyacinths but are not members of the genusHyacinthus and are edible; one example is thetassel hyacinth, which forms part of the cuisine of some Mediterranean countries.[16]
Hyacinths are often associated with spring and rebirth.[17] The hyacinth flower is used in theHaft-Seen table setting for thePersian New Year celebration,Nowruz, held at thespring equinox. ThePersian word for hyacinth isسنبل (sonbol), meaning 'cluster'.
The hyacinth appears in the first section ofT. S. Eliot'sThe Waste Land during a conversation between the narrator and the "hyacinth girl" that takes place in the spring.[20]
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.
InRoman Catholic tradition,H. orientalis represents prudence, constancy, desire of heaven, and peace of mind.[21]
The colour of the blue flower hyacinth plant varies between 'mid-blue',[22]violet blue and bluishpurple. Within this range can be foundPersenche, which is an Americancolor name (probably from French), for a hyacinth hue.[23]The colour analysis of Persenche is 73%ultramarine, 9%red and 18%white.[24]
^Beckett, K., ed. (1993),Encyclopaedia of Alpines : Volume 1 (A–K), Pershore, UK: AGS Publications,ISBN978-0-900048-61-6 pp. 656–657.
^Hyam, R. & Pankhurst, R.J. (1995),Plants and their names : a concise dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press,ISBN978-0-19-866189-4
^Lindsell, Alice,Was Theocritus a botanist? inRaven, John E. (2000), Raven, Faith; Stearn, William T.; Jardine, Nicholas & Frasca-Spada, Marina (eds.),Plants and Plant Lore in Ancient Greece, Oxford: Leopard's Head Press, p. 27,ISBN978-0-904920-40-6, p. 68
^Kurke, Leslie (1999).Coins, bodies, games, and gold : the politics of meaning in archaic Greece. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 192.ISBN0691007365.
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