Hyacinthoides × massartiana explained

Hyacinthoides × massartiana is a hybrid species produced by crosses between the common bluebell, H. non-scripta and the Spanish bluebell, H. hispanica. H. × massartiana fills a spectrum of variation which connects the two parental species.^[1]

Distribution

Hyacinthoides × massartiana has become widespread across Britain and Belgium,^[2] both of which have large populations of H. non-scripta. It is often found on the edges of woodland and roadsides, particularly in urban areas, suggesting that it has spread from gardens planted with H. hispanica.^[3] There is great concern over the effect that the hybrid may have on native H. non-scripta populations, diluting the characteristics of the native species and out-competing it due to H. hispanica's robust fertility and the effects of climate change.^[4]

Taxonomic history

Hybrids between H. non-scripta and H. hispanica were first given a specific name in 1997, when the Belgian botanist D. Geerinck described them as H. × massartiana,^[5] honouring the botanist Jean Massart.^[6] The type locality is Watermael-Boitsfort, near Brussels, Belgium; the holotype is held in Brussels, with an isotype in Liège.^[7] The same taxon had already been given the name "Hyacinthoides × variabilis" by P. D. Sell in 1996 in the Flora of Great Britain and Ireland,^[8] but without a valid Latin diagnosis.^[6]

External links

• • News: Bluebells: the survival battle of Britain's native bluebells . Hannah Briggs . . April 11, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120412184513/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17597489 . April 12, 2012 . live .

Notes and References

1. Book: Clive A. Stace . 2010 . New Flora of the British Isles . limited . 3rd . . Cambridge . 978-0-521-70772-5 . Hyacinthoides Heist. ex Fabr. (Endymion Dumort.) – bluebells . 920–921. Clive A. Stace .
2. Web site: Verloove. Filip. 5 March 2018. Hyacinthoides x massartiana. Manual of the Alien Plants of Belgium.
3. Web site: 30 August 2010. Hyacinthoides non-scripta, H. hispanica & H. x massartiana. Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland: BSBI Species Accounts Archive.
4. Web site: Hyslop. Sally. 21 May 2015. Citizen Science Blog: Native and non-native Bluebell survey. Natural History Museum.
5. D. Geerinck . 1997 . 1996 . Une épithète pour l'hybride Hyacinthoides hispanica (Mill.) Rothm. × H. non-scripta (L.) Chouard ex Rothm.: H. × massartiana Geerinck (Liliaceae) . . 129 . 1 . 83–85 . 20794380.
6. Eric J. Clement . 2000 . The hybrid bluebell, H. × massartiana . BSBI News . . 84 . 24 .
7. Michael Grundmann . Fred J. Rumsey . Stephen W. Ansell . Stephen J. Russell . Sarah C. Darwin . Johannes C. Vogel . Mark Spencer . Jane Squirrell . Peter M. Hollingsworth . Santiago Ortiz . Harald Schneider . 2010 . Phylogeny and taxonomy of the bluebell genus Hyacinthoides, Asparagaceae [Hyacinthaceae] . . 59 . 1 . 68–82 . 10.1002/tax.591008 .
8. Book: P. D. Sell . G. Murrell . 1996 . Flora of Great Britain and Ireland . 5 . Butomaceae–Orchidaceae . Liliaceae . 251–294 . . Cambridge . 978-0-521-55339-1.