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Hyacinth
The Dutch, or Common Hyacinth of house and garden culture (H. orientalis of the northeast Mediterranean) was so popular in the 18th century that over 2,000 cultivars were cultivated in the Netherlands, its chief commercial producer. This hyacinth has a single dense spike of fragrant flowers in shades of red, blue, white, or yellow. A variety of the common hyacinth is the less hardy and smaller blue- or white-petalled Roman hyacinth (var. albulus) of florists. Only three species are currently recognised within the genus Hyacinthus. They are: * Hyacinthus litwinowii Some authorities place H. litwonowii and H. transcaspicus in the related genus Hyacinthella, leaving Hyacinthus as monotypic. The related grape hyacinths (Muscari), sometimes called baby's-breath, are very low, mostly blue-flowered plants similar in appearance to hyacinths and are also commonly cultivated. Several types of brodiea, deathcamas, squill, and other plants that were formerly classified in the lily family and have flower clusters borne along the stalk also have common names with hyacinth in them. Up to Home page
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