Muscari armeniacum
Leichtlin ex Baker Grape HyacinthTufted perennial to c. 40 cm high. Bulb tunics dark brown. Leaves 15–40 cm long, 3–10 mm wide, channelled along inner face. Raceme crowded, 3–6 cm long; flowers scented, pendent to patent; corolla of fertile flowers urceolate, 5–6 mm long, deep blue to purple with short, white lobes; sterile flowers with corolla obovoid, slightly shorter than those of fertile flowers and wholly blue. Capsule plump, obovoid, 7–9 mm long. Grape Hyacinth. Flowers early spring.
MuM, Wim, VVP, GipP, OtP, Gold, CVU, DunT, HSF, Strz, VAlp. Also naturalised SA, NSW, ACT. Native to eastern Mediterranean region, but widely cultivated. Recorded from Ballarat, Bendigo, Burrumbeet, Daylesford, Dimboola, and Geelong, probably becoming established at some of these sites as a result of dumping of garden refuse. Likely to be more widespread than records indicate, either as naturalised occurrences or as remnants around abandoned home sites.
Conran, J.G. (1994). Liliaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 2, Ferns and Allied Plants, Conifers and Monocotyledons, pp. 637–686. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
