Muscari subg. Pseudomuscari
| Muscari subg. Pseudomuscari | |
|---|---|
 | |
| M. azureum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asparagaceae |
| Subfamily: | Scilloideae |
| Genus: | Muscari |
| Subgenus: | Muscari subg. Pseudomuscari (Losinsk.) D.C.Stuart[1]r |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Pseudomuscari Garbari & Greuter | |
Muscari subg. Pseudomuscari is a subgenus of bulbous perennials in the family Asparagaceae subfamily Scilloideae that has been treated as the separate genus Pseudomuscari.[1] Muscari species placed in the subfamily have flowers in shades of pale or bright blue, and are small plants with dense flower spikes or racemes. A feature which distinguishes them from other groups of Muscari is the bell-shaped flower which is not constricted at the mouth. One species, Muscari azureum (syn. Pseudomuscari azureum), is popularly grown in gardens as an ornamental Spring-flowering plant.[2]
Systematics
The group of species now placed in Muscari subg. Pseudomuscari was separated off as a section within Muscari by A.S. Losina-Losinskaja in a 1935 publication and as a subgenus by D.C. Stuart in 1965, but neither name was validly published. The group was first formally described as a genus by Fabio Garbari and Werner Greuter in 1970.[3] A molecular phylogenetic study in 2023 concluded that Pseudomuscari was embedded in Muscari, and so reduced the genus again to a subgenus of Muscari, M. subg. Pseudomuscari.[1] As of September 2025, Plants of the World Online treated Pseudomuscari as a synonym of Muscari.[4]
Species
In 2023, Böhnert et al. placed eight species in M. subg. Pseudomuscari:[1]
| Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
 | Muscari azureum Fenzl | Turkey |
| Muscari coeleste Fomin | E. Turkey | |
| Muscari forniculatum Fomin | NE. Turkey | |
 | Muscari inconstrictum Rech.f. | E. Medit. to NW. Iran |
| Muscari kurdicum Maroofi | ||
| Muscari parviflorum Desf. | ||
 | Muscari pseudomuscari (Boiss. & Buhse) Wendelbo (syn. Muscari chalusicum D.C.Stuart) | N. Iran |
| Muscari tavoricum Ravenna |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Böhnert, Tim; Neumann, Michael; Quandt, Dietmar & Weigend, Maximilian (2023). "Phylogeny based generic reclassification of Muscari sensu lato (Asparagaceae) using plastid and genomic DNA". Taxon. 72 (2): 261–277. Bibcode:2023Taxon..72..261B. doi:10.1002/tax.12864.
- ↑ Mathew, Brian (1987), The Smaller Bulbs, London: B.T. Batsford, ISBN 978-0-7134-4922-8, p. 125 (as the Pseudomuscari group)
- ↑ Garbari, F. & Greuter, W. (1970), "On the Taxonomy and Typification of Muscari Miller (Liliaceae) and Allied Genera, and on the Typification of Generic Names", Taxon, 19 (3): 329–335, Bibcode:1970Taxon..19..329G, doi:10.2307/1219056, JSTOR 1219056
- ↑ "Pseudomuscari Garbari & Greuter". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 6 September 2025.