Aphyllanthes monspeliensis

English: Blue Aphyllanthes
Nederlands:
Español: Junquillo - Chunza - Chunqueta - Juncia - Clavel seco
Français: Aphyllanthe de Montpellier - Oeillet bleu de Montpellier
Deutsch: Binsenlilie - Blaue Binse

Family: Asparagaceae - Asparagus family
Flowering time: April-July
Height: 10-40cm
Altitude: 400-1700m
Colour: blue, rarely white
Flower: 25-30mm, in a head of 2-3, tepals with a dark mid-vein
Leaves: membranous sheaths
Habitat: dry grassy places, rocky terrain, garrigue
Distribution: Iberian Peninsula eastwards to northwestern Italy, including the Balearic Islands






Notes: Rush-like bluish-green plant with reddish-brown leaves.

Related key words: Rio Aguas Blancas, Jardín botánico la Cortijuela, Sierra Nevada, Granada, Andalucía, Andalusia, Andalusië, Urdués (Valle de Hecho), Solana (Villanúa), Sierra de Laspún (Campo), Pirineos, Pyrenees, Pyreneeën, Picos de Europa, Alps

Chionodoxa siehei

English: Forbes' Glory-of-the-Snow
Nederlands: Grote sneeuwroem
Español:
Français: Gloire des neiges
Deutsch: Schneestolz

Family: Asparagaceae - Asparagus family
Flowering time: March-April
Height: 10-25cm
Altitude:
Colour: blue, sometimes white or pink
Leaves: two or three, linear, red edge
Flower: 20-35mm, style 1-1,5mm
Habitat: mountains in Crete, Cyprus and Turkey
Distribution: native to Greece and Turkey
Synonyms: Scilla siehei - Scilla forbesii - Chionodoxa luciliae





Notes: Chionodoxa siehei is a bulbous perennial that flowers in early spring. After flowering, it goes into dormancy until the next spring. The seeds of Forbes' Glory of the snow contain an ant bread. Fallen seeds are collected by ants, the sweet bread is eaten and the bitter seed is planted. Forbes' Glory-of-the-snow was introduced as a garden plant in the Netherlands around 1880. In this country it is now a naturalized species. Chionodoxa siehei is similar to Chionodoxa sardensis. The flowers of Forbes' Glory-of-the-Snow are larger, the style is shorter and the colour is paler blue compared to those of  Lesser Glory-of-the-Snow.

Related key words: Heemtuin Kralingse Bos Rotterdam, Landgoed Elswout Overveen, bijgoed stinsenflora

Scilla bifolia

English: Alpine Squill - Two-leaf Squill
Nederlands: Vroege sterhyacint
Español:
Français: Scille à deux feuilles - Étoile bleue
Deutsch: Zweiblättrige Blaustern - Sternhyazinthe - Zweiblättrige Meerzwiebel

Family: Asparagaceae - Asparagus family
Flowering time: March-June
Height: 10-25cm
Altitude: to 2000m
Colour: violet-blue, rarely white or lilac
Leaves: two or rarely three, broadly linear, lance-shaped, curved, fleshy, shiny
Habitat: shady places, woods of beech or deciduous trees, mountain meadows
Distribution: native to central and southern Europe (Belgium most northern country)







Notes: The flowering stems of Scilla bifolia are erect and unbranched. It grows from a bulb and the raceme bears six to ten flowers. The foliage of Alpine Squill will remain for a short time after flowering and then quickly die back in mid to late spring. This species spreads via seeds and dividing bulbs. It can form large carpets, for example in the northern Bovenrijndal in Germany. In this country Scilla bifolia is on the Red List of vascular plants and legally protected. In the Netherlands Alpine Squill is offered as a garden plant and has naturalized in forest parks. It can be found next to the Siberian squill, a relative that flowers at the same time. Both species are important nectar plants for honey bees in early spring.

Related key words: Rotterdam Kralingse Bos, Botanische tuin Kralingen, stinzenplant, stinzenflora, Stinsenplanze, plantes castrale, Alps

Scilla siberica

English: Siberian Squill
Nederlands: Oosterse sterhyacint
Español:
Français: Scille de Sibérie
Deutsch: Sibirischer Blaustern - Nickende Sternhyazinthe - Sibirische Sternhyazinthe

Family: Asparagaceae - Asparagus family
Flowering time: March-April
Height: 10-20cm
Altitude:
Colour: deep blue
Leaves: leaves two to four, oblong to broad-linear shaped
Habitat: deciduous woods and scrubb
Distribution: native to southwestern Russia, the Caucasus and Turkey







Notes: Siberian Squill has drooping, bell-shaped flowers, one to three on a common scape, often several scapes per bulb. After flowering, the flower stems become limp as capsules (pods) mature. At maturity, the capsules become purple and split open, releasing small, dark brown seeds. When the seeds are mature, the leaves wither and the plant goes dormant until the next spring. In the Netherlands the Scilla siberica has become naturalized.

Related key words: Rotterdam Kralingse Bos, Botanische tuin Kralingen, Landgoed Elswout Overveen, stinzenplant, stinzenflora, Stinsenplanze, plantes castrale

Hyacinthoides non-scripta

English: Bluebell
Nederlands: Wilde hyacinth - Boshyacinth
Español: Jacinto de bosque - Jacinto de los bosques
Français: Jacinthe des bois - Jacinthe sauvage
Deutsch: Atlantische Hasenglöckchen

Family: Asparagaceae - Asparagus family
Flowering time: April-May
Height: 0,15-0,50cm
Altitude: to 1500m
Colour: violet–blue, rarely pinkish or white
Habitat: woods, heaths, mountains, sea cliffs
Distribution: western Europe, northern Spain, naturalized from gardens in Germany
Synonyms: Scilla non-scripta - Endymion nutans







Note: The flowers are strongly and sweetly scented. Bluebell flowers are rich in pollen and nectar, and are chiefly pollinated by bumblebees, although they are also visited by various other insects like butterflies. Bluebells have the ability to reproduce vegetatively using runners, which means that they can spread rapidly. They are associated with ancient woodland where they can produce carpets of violet–blue flowers. There are in ´bluebell woods´ for example in Great Britain and in Belgium. In many countries in hybridises with the related Hyacinthoides hispanica, forming a species known as Hyacinthoides × massartiana.

Related key words: Heemtuin Tenellaplas Rockanje, Lycklamabossen (Aldemardum), naturalized cultivar, stinsenplant, stinzenplant, stinzenflora, Stinzeplanzen, plantes castrales, kruishyacinth, Muziekbos, Hallerbos, insect, butterfly

Hyacinthoides hispanica

English: Spanish Bluebell - Garden Bluebell
Nederlands: Spaanse hyacinth
Español: Jacinto de bosque - Jacinto de campo - Escila española
Français: Scille d'Espagne
Deutsch: Spanische Hasenglöckchen

Family: Asparagaceae - Asparagus family
Flowering time: Febrero-May
Height: 10-50cm
Altitude:
Colour: pale to mid–blue, ocassionally pinkish or white
Habitat: primarily a mountain species, limestone rocks, meadows, roadsides, cultivated land
Distribution: Iberian Peninsula: western, southern and central Spain and Portugal
Synonyms: Scilla hispanica - Endymion campanulatus - Endymion hispanicus







Note: In Spain the Hyacinthoides hispanica flowers between February and April and in northern Europe in April and May. Naturalized in France, Italy and Yogoslavia, perhaps elsewhere. Compared to the Common Bluebell, the Spanish Bluebell has paler flowers that are produced on all sides of the upright stem, less recurved petals and blue pollen. The Spanish Bluebell is cultivated as a garden plant in a number of European countries, and several named cultivars exist with flowers in various shades of white, pink and blue. The hyacinths that occur in the Netherlands outside the gardens are considered hybrids of Hyacinthoides hispanica and the Hyacinthoides non-scripta and are known as Hyacinthoides x massartiana. In Great Britain and parts of France the Spanish bluebell is regarded as an enemy of the native Hyacinthoides non-scripta.

Related key words: Rotterdam, Botanische tuin Kralingen, Andalucía, Guarda forestal Sierra de la Nieves, Torcal de Antequera, naturalized cultivar, stinsenplant, Stinzeplanzen, stinzenflora, plantes castrales, kruishyacinth