Bellevalia

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{Automatic taxobox | taxon = Bellevalia | image = Bellevalia nivalis kz4.jpg | image_caption = ''Bellevalia nivalis'' | authority = Lapeyr. 1808, conserved name, not Scop. 1777 (Verbenaceae) nor Delile Endl. 1836 (Potamogetonaceae)<ref>[http://www.tropicos.org/NameSearch.aspx?name=Bellevalia&commonname= Tropicos, search for name Bellevalia]</ref> | synonyms_ref = <ref name=powo>{{cite web |title=''Bellevalia'' Lapeyr. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331146-2 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=3 September 2025}}</ref> | synonyms = *''Amphibolis'' Schott & Kotschy in C.G.T.Kotschy. 1858, illegitimate homonym, not C. Agardh 1822 *''Borboya'' Raf. *''Busbequia'' Salisb. *''Foxia'' Parl. *''Rytidolobus'' Dulac *''Strangweja'' Bertol. }}

'''''Bellevalia''''' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae.<ref>{{citation |last=Stevens |first=P.F. |title=Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Asparagales: Scilloideae |url=http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/apweb/orders/asparagalesweb.htm#Hyacinthaceae }}</ref> It was first described as a genus in 1808.<ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6204967#page/439/mode/1up Lapeyrouse, Philippe Picot de. 1808. Journal de Physique, de Chimie, d'Histoire Naturelle et des Arts 67: 425-427] in French</ref><ref>[http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40026157 Tropicos, ''Bellevalia'' Lapeyr.]</ref> [[File:Bellevalia in Behbahan, Iran.jpg|alt=Wild Bellevalia in Behbahan, Iran|thumb|Wild ''Bellevalia'' in Behbahan]] It includes 81 species native to the Mediterranean Basin of North Africa, southern Europe, and Western Asia, as well as Ukraine, southern European Russia, the Caucasus, and western and Central Asia as far as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan.<ref name = powo/>

== Description == ''Bellevalia'' species are perennial herbaceous plants. As geophytes, they form bulbs with a membranous sheath ("tunic"). The simple, parallel-veined leaves are basal. Grape-like inflorescences grow terminally on smooth cylindrical flower stems. The numerous flowers are located in the axils of small, membranous bracts. The hermaphroditic flowers are triple. The six identically shaped bracts are one-third to one-half their length and deformed tubular, bell-shaped or funnel-shaped in form. The color of the bracts ranges from white to cream to brown or more rarely from blue to purple. The fruit capsule is triangular in cross section with winged edges. The seeds are more or less spherical, rarely elongated and glossy.

== Taxonomy == [[File:Wild Bellevalia in Behbahan II.jpg|alt=Wild Bellevalia in Behbahan II|thumb|Wild ''Bellevalia'' in Behbahan]] The genus ''Bellevalia'' was first described in 1808 by Philippe-Isidore Picot de Lapeyrouse.<ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6204967 Philippe-Isidore Picot de Lapeyrouse: Bellevalia. Nouveau genre de plante de la famille des Liliacées. In: Journal de Physique, de Chimie et d'Histoire Naturelle. Band 67, Nr. 12, 1808, p. 425–427]</ref> The genus name honors the French botanist Pierre Richer de Belleval (1564-1632).<ref>Sandro Pignatti (Hrsg.): Flora d'Italia. Vol. 1–3, Edagricole, Bologna 1982 (Nachdruck 2002), {{ISBN|88-506-2449-2}}, S. 374 (Band 3).</ref> A synonym for ''Bellevalia'' is ''Strangweja'' Bertol. The homonym genus ''Bellevalia'' Roem. & Schult. is a synonym of the genus ''Richeria'' Vahl from the family Phyllanthaceae.

Some species formerly belonged to the genus ''Hyacinthus''. The genus ''Bellevalia'' is placed in the tribe Hyacintheae in the subfamily Scilloideae within the family Asparagaceae.

=== Species === 81 species are accepted.<ref name = powo/> {{Columns-list|colwidth=30em| # ''Bellevalia anatolica'' B.Mathew & Özhatay # ''Bellevalia assadii'' Wendelbo # ''Bellevalia aucheri'' (Baker) Losinsk. # ''Bellevalia bayburtensis'' {{small|Sefali & Yıldırım}} # ''Bellevalia behcetii'' {{small|Pinar, Eroglu & Fidan}} # ''Bellevalia brevipedicellata'' Turrill # ''Bellevalia chrisii'' {{small|Yıldırım & B.Sahin}} # ''Bellevalia ciliata'' (Cirillo) T.Nees # ''Bellevalia clusiana'' Griseb. # ''Bellevalia crassa'' Wendelbo # ''Bellevalia cyanopoda'' Wendelbo # ''Bellevalia cyrenaica'' Maire & Weiller # ''Bellevalia decolorans'' Bornm. # ''Bellevalia densiflora'' Boiss. # ''Bellevalia desertorum'' Eig & Feinbrun # ''Bellevalia douinii'' Pabot & Mouterde # ''Bellevalia dubia'' (Guss.) Schult. & Schult.f. # ''Bellevalia edirnensis'' Özhatay & B.Mathew # ''Bellevalia eigii'' Feinbrun # ''Bellevalia feinbruniae'' Freitag & Wendelbo # ''Bellevalia flexuosa'' Boiss. # ''Bellevalia fominii'' Woronow # ''Bellevalia galitensis'' Bocchieri & Mossa # ''Bellevalia glauca'' (Lindl.) Kunth # ''Bellevalia gracilis'' Feinbrun # ''Bellevalia guneriana'' {{small|Tugay & Armağan}} # ''Bellevalia hakkariensis'' {{small|Fırat}} # ''Bellevalia hermonis'' Mouterde # ''Bellevalia heweri'' Wendelbo # ''Bellevalia hyacinthoides'' (Bertol.) K.Perss. & Wendelbo # ''Bellevalia juliana'' {{small|Bareka, Turland & Kamari}} # ''Bellevalia koeiei'' Rech.f. # ''Bellevalia konyaensis'' {{small|Tugay & Ulukuş}} # ''Bellevalia koyuncui'' {{small|Karabacak & Yıldırım}} # ''Bellevalia kurdica'' {{small|Fırat}} # ''Bellevalia kurdistanica'' Feinbrun # ''Bellevalia leucantha'' K.Perss. # ''Bellevalia longipes'' Post # ''Bellevalia longistyla'' (Miscz.) Grossh. # ''Bellevalia lypskyi'' (Miscz.) Wulff. # ''Bellevalia macrobotrys'' Boiss. # ''Bellevalia malatyaensis'' {{small|Uzunh. & H.Duman}} # ''Bellevalia mathewii'' Özhatay & Koçak # ''Bellevalia mauritanica'' Pomel # ''Bellevalia modesta'' Wendelbo # ''Bellevalia montana'' (K.Koch) Boiss., syns ''Bellevalia albana'' Woronow, ''Bellevalia makuensis'' Woronow ex Grossh., ''Bellevalia wilhelmsii'' (Steven) Woronow # ''Bellevalia mosheovii'' Feinbrun # ''Bellevalia multicolor'' Wendelbo # ''Bellevalia nivalis'' Boiss. & Kotschy # ''Bellevalia olivieri'' (Baker) Wendelbo, syn. ''Bellevalia latifolia'' Feinbrun # ''Bellevalia palmyrensis'' Feinbrun # ''Bellevalia paradoxa'' (Fisch. & C.A.Mey.) Boiss., syn. ''Bellevalia pycnantha'' (K.Koch) Losinsk. # ''Bellevalia parva'' Wendelbo # ''Bellevalia pseudofominii'' {{small|Özhatay & E.Kaya}} # ''Bellevalia pseudolongipes'' {{small|Karabacak & Yıldırım}} # ''Bellevalia rixii'' Wendelbo # ''Bellevalia romana'' (L.) Sweet # ''Bellevalia salah-eidii'' Täckh. & Boulos # ''Bellevalia sasonii'' {{small|Fidan}} # ''Bellevalia saviczii'' Woronow # ''Bellevalia sessiliflora'' (Viv.) Kunth # ''Bellevalia shiraziana'' Parsa # ''Bellevalia siirtensis'' {{small|Firat}} # ''Bellevalia sirnakensis'' {{small|(Yıld.) Yıld.}} # ''Bellevalia sitiaca'' Kypriotakis & Tzanoud. # ''Bellevalia speciosa'' Woronow ex Grossh., syn. ''Bellevalia sarmatica'' (Pall. ex Georgi) Woronow # ''Bellevalia spicata'' (Raf.) Boiss. # ''Bellevalia stepporum'' Feinbrun # ''Bellevalia tabriziana'' Turrill # ''Bellevalia tauri'' Feinbrun # ''Bellevalia trifoliata'' (Ten.) Kunth # ''Bellevalia tristis'' Bornm. # ''Bellevalia turcica'' {{small|Pınar & Eroğlu}} # ''Bellevalia turkestanica'' Franch., syn. ''Bellevalia atroviolacea'' Regel # ''Bellevalia undulatifolia'' {{small|Özhatay, Gürdal & E.Kaya}} # ''Bellevalia validicarpa'' Ponert # ''Bellevalia vuralii'' {{small|B.Sahin & Aslan}} # ''Bellevalia warburgii'' Feinbrun # ''Bellevalia webbiana'' Parl. # ''Bellevalia wendelboi'' Maassoumi & Jafari # ''Bellevalia zoharyi'' Feinbrun }}

'''Recently described species''' include: * ''Bellevalia iranica'' Alipour, Majidi, & Eker described in 2025 from Iran<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ali̇Pour |first=Sajad |last2=Maji̇Di̇ |first2=Rami̇Ar |last3=Eker |first3=İSmai̇L |date=2025-04-15 |title=Bellevalia iranica (Asparagaceae, Scilloideae), a new species from Iran |url=https://phytotaxa.mapress.com/pt/article/view/phytotaxa.697.2.7 |journal=Phytotaxa |volume=697 |issue=2 |pages=213–218 |doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.697.2.7 |issn=1179-3163|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

;Species formerly included<ref name=j>R. Govaerts, B. J. M. Zonneveld, S. A. Zona: World checklist of Asparagaceae. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=300378 ''Search on Bellevalia''] Access date 8 July 2014</ref> moved to ''Alrawia'', ''Althenia'', ''Hyacinthella'', and ''Muscari'' {{Columns-list|colwidth=30em| # ''B. aleppica - Hyacinthella nervosa'' # ''B. aperta - Muscari armeniacum'' # ''B. atchleyi - Hyacinthella leucophaea subsp. atchleyi'' # ''B. australis - Althenia filiformis var. barrandonii'' # ''B. azurea - Muscari azureum'' # ''B. bellii - Alrawia bellii'' # ''B. bouriana - Muscari comosum'' # ''B. calandriniana - Muscari comosum'' # ''B. caucasica - Muscari caucasicum'' # ''B. coelestis - Muscari coeleste'' # ''B. coerulea - Pseudomuscari coeruleum'' # ''B. comosa - Muscari comosum'' # ''B. cupaniana - Muscari gussonei'' # ''B. dalmatica - Hyacinthella dalmatica'' # ''B. dichroa - Alrawia bellii'' # ''B. fontanesii - Muscari maritimum'' # ''B. forniculata - Muscari forniculatum'' # ''B. fuliginosa - Muscari fuliginosum'' # ''B. graeca - Muscari comosum'' # ''B. graminifolia - Muscari comosum'' # ''B. haynei - Hyacinthella nervosa'' # ''B. heldreichii - Hyacinthella heldreichii'' # ''B. hispida - Hyacinthella hispida'' # ''B. holzmannii - Muscari comosum'' # ''B. leucophaea - Hyacinthella leucophaea'' # ''B. lineata - Hyacinthella lineata'' # ''B. longipes'' (Boiss.) Bornm. 1939 not Post 1895 - ''Muscari longipes'' # ''B. maritima - Muscari maritimum'' # ''B. maritima subsp. weissii - Muscari weissii'' # ''B. micrantha - Hyacinthella micrantha'' # ''B. millingenii - Hyacinthella millingenii'' # ''B. monophylla - Muscari latifolium'' # ''B. muscarioides - Muscari latifolium'' # ''B. nervosa - Hyacinthella nervosa'' # ''B. oxycarpa - Alrawia bellii'' # ''B. pallens - Muscari pallens'' # ''B. persica - Hyacinthella persica'' # ''B. pharmacusana - Muscari comosum'' # ''B. pinardii - Muscari comosum'' # ''B. pseudomuscari - Muscari pseudomuscari'' # ''B. sartoriana - Muscari comosum'' # ''B. tenuiflora - Muscari tenuiflora'' # ''B. tenuiflora subsp. constricta - Muscari comosum'' # ''B. theraea - Muscari weissii'' # ''B. turkewiczii - Muscari coeleste'' # ''B. weissii - Muscari weissii'' }}

==References== {{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==

* S. I. Ali: ''Flora of Pakistan. Volume 214: Hyacinthaceae.'' University of Karachi, Department of Botany, Karachi 2005, S. 2, [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=103728 ''Bellevalia'' online] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090506234423/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?1371 GRIN] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=eBMXAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA64 Gustav Heynhold: Nomenclator botanicus hortensis: Oder, Alphabetische und synonymische Aufzählung der in den Gärten Europa's Cultivirten Gewächse, nebst Angabe ihres Autors, ihres Vaterlandes, ihrer Dauer und Cultur. Band 2. Arnoldische Buchhandlung, Dresden und Leipzig 1846, p. 64] * [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=4481408 Cristian Brullo, Salvatore Brullo, S. Pasta: Bellevalia pelagica (Hyacinthaceae), a new species from the Islet of Lampione (Pelagian Archipelag, Sicily). In: Edinburgh Journal of Botany. vol. 66, No. 1, 2009, p. 65–75] * [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=2506784 A. Jafari, A. A. Maassoumi: A New Species of Bellevalia (Liliaceae/Hyacinthaceae) from Iran. In: Edinburgh Journal of Botany. vol 65, No. 3, 2008, p. 469–473]

==External links == {{Commons}} {{Wikispecies}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20141102021344/http://flora.huji.ac.il/browse.asp?lang=en&action=browse&group=1186 Flora of Israel] * [http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Bellevalia Pacific Bulb Society] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090816084957/http://www.bulbsociety.org/GALLERY_OF_THE_WORLDS_BULBS/GRAPHICS/Bellevalia/Bellevalialist.shtml International Bulb Society]

Category:Asparagaceae genera Category:Scilloideae