Hesperis

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{See also|Hesperis (mythology)}} {{Automatic taxobox |image = Hesperis matronalis flowers.jpg |image_caption = ''Hesperis matronalis'' |taxon = Hesperis |authority = L. }}

'''''Hesperis''''' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae. Most are native to Eurasia, with several endemic to Greece and Turkey. Many plants of this genus bear showy, fragrant flowers in shades of purple and white. One of the more widely known species is the common garden flower ''Hesperis matronalis''. The genus name ''Hesperis'' was probably given because the scent of the flowers becomes more conspicuous towards evening (''Hespera'' is the Greek word for evening).<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Britton, N. F. |author2=Brown, Addison | title=An illustrated flora of the northern United States and Canada: from Newfoundland to the parallel of the southern boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic Ocean westward to the 102d meridian |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedflora702brit |url-access=registration | date=1970 | publisher=Dover Publications | location=New York | isbn=978-0-486-22643-9 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedflora702brit/page/175 175]}}</ref>

==Species== The following species are recognised in the genus ''Hesperis'':<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hesperis L. {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60436426-2 |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=Plants of the World Online |language=en}}</ref> {{div col|colwidth=22em}}

*''Hesperis anatolica'' {{small|A.Duran}} *''Hesperis armena'' {{small|Boiss.}} *''Hesperis bakhtiarica'' {{small|Eslami-Farouji, Assadi & Khodayari}} *''Hesperis balansae'' {{small|E.Fourn.}} *''Hesperis bicuspidata'' {{small|(Willd.) Poir.}} *''Hesperis blakelockii'' {{small|F.Dvořák}} *''Hesperis boissieriana'' {{small|Bornm.}} *''Hesperis borbasii'' {{small|F.Dvořák}} *''Hesperis bottae'' {{small|E.Fourn.}} *''Hesperis breviscapa'' {{small|Boiss.}} *''Hesperis burdurensis'' {{small|Ö.Çetin}} *''Hesperis buschiana'' {{small|Tzvelev}} *''Hesperis cilicica'' {{small|(Siehe ex Bornm.) A.Duran}} *''Hesperis ciscaucasica'' {{small|F.Dvořák & V.I.Dorof.}} *''Hesperis dinarica'' {{small|Beck}} *''Hesperis dvorakii'' {{small|D.A.German}} *''Hesperis hamzaoglui'' {{small|A.Duran}} *''Hesperis hedgei'' {{small|P.H.Davis & Kit Tan}} *''Hesperis hirsutissima'' {{small|(N.Busch) Tzvelev}} *''Hesperis hyrcana'' {{small|Bornm. & Gauba}} *''Hesperis ilamica'' {{small|Eslami-Farouji, Khodayari & Assadi}} *''Hesperis inodora'' {{small|L.}} *''Hesperis isatidea'' {{small|(Boiss.) D.A.German & Al-Shehbaz}} *''Hesperis kitiana'' {{small|P.H.Davis}} *''Hesperis kotschyi'' {{small|Boiss.}} *''Hesperis kuerschneri'' {{small|Parolly & Kit Tan}} *''Hesperis kurdica'' {{small|F.Dvořák & Hadač}} *''Hesperis laciniata'' {{small|All.}} *''Hesperis luristanica'' {{small|F.Dvořák}} *''Hesperis matronalis'' {{small|L.}} *''Hesperis microcalyx'' {{small|E.Fourn.}} *''Hesperis muglensis'' {{small|Hamzaoğlu & Koç}} *''Hesperis multicaulis'' {{small|Boiss.}} *''Hesperis nivalis'' {{small|Boiss. & Hausskn.}} *''Hesperis novakii'' {{small|F.Dvořák}} *''Hesperis odorata'' {{small|F.Dvořák}} *''Hesperis ozcelikii'' {{small|A.Duran}} *''Hesperis pendula'' {{small|DC.}} *''Hesperis persica'' {{small|Boiss.}} *''Hesperis pisidica'' {{small|Hub.-Mor.}} *''Hesperis podocarpa'' {{small|Boiss.}} *''Hesperis sibirica'' {{small|L.}} *''Hesperis slovaca'' {{small|(F.Dvořák) F.Dvořák}} *''Hesperis steveniana'' {{small|DC.}} *''Hesperis straussii'' {{small|Bornm.}} *''Hesperis sylvestris'' {{small|Crantz}} *''Hesperis syriaca'' {{small|(DC.) F.Dvořák}} *''Hesperis theophrasti'' {{small|Borbás}} *''Hesperis thyrsoidea'' {{small|Boiss.}} *''Hesperis tosyaensis'' {{small|A.Duran}} *''Hesperis tristis'' {{small|L.}} *''Hesperis turkmendaghensis'' {{small|A.Duran & Ocak}} *''Hesperis zaferi'' {{small|Hamzaoğlu & Koç}} {{div col end}}

== Classical literature source == Classical literature source for the plant Hesperis: * Pliny, ''Natural History'' 21. 18 ff (trans. Bostock & Riley) (Roman historian C1st AD)

==References== {{Reflist}} *[https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id422174/]

==External links== *[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?2240,2492 Jepson Manual Treatment]

Category:Brassicaceae genera