Bellevalia

Bellevalia is a genus of plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae.^[3] It was first described as a genus in 1808.^[4][5]

Wild Bellevalia in Behbahan

Bellevalia
Bellevalia nivalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asparagaceae
Subfamily:	Scilloideae
Genus:	Bellevalia Lapeyr. 1808, conserved name, not Scop. 1777 (Verbenaceae) nor Delile Endl. 1836 (Potamogetonaceae)[1]
Synonyms[2]
Strangweja Bertol. Borboya Raf. Foxia Parl. Amphibolis Schott & Kotschy in C.G.T.Kotschy. 1858, illegitimate homonym, not C. Agardh 1822 Busbequia Salisb. Rytidolobus Dulac

The approximately 65 species are found from the Mediterranean: Turkey (about 12 species) and Israel (12 species), to central Asia: Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan (three species).

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

Wild Bellevalia in Behbahan

The genus Bellevalia was first described in 1808 by Philippe-Isidore Picot de Lapeyrouse.^[6] The genus name honors the French botanist Pierre Richer de Belleval (1564-1632).^[7] 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

According to the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families,^[2] there were 65 Bellevalia species described in 2014:

1. Bellevalia anatolica B.Mathew & Özhatay
2. Bellevalia assadii Wendelbo
3. Bellevalia aucheri (Baker) Losinsk.
4. Bellevalia brevipedicellata Turrill
5. Bellevalia ciliata (Cirillo) T.Nees
6. Bellevalia clusiana Griseb.
7. Bellevalia crassa Wendelbo
8. Bellevalia cyanopoda Wendelbo
9. Bellevalia cyrenaica Maire & Weiller
10. Bellevalia decolorans Bornm.
11. Bellevalia densiflora Boiss.
12. Bellevalia desertorum Eig & Feinbrun
13. Bellevalia dolichophylla Brullo & Miniss.
14. Bellevalia douinii Pabot & Mouterde
15. Bellevalia dubia (Guss.) Schult. & Schult.f.
16. Bellevalia edirnensis Özhatay & B.Mathew
17. Bellevalia eigii Feinbrun
18. Bellevalia feinbruniae Freitag & Wendelbo
19. Bellevalia flexuosa Boiss.
20. Bellevalia fominii Woronow
21. Bellevalia galitensis Bocchieri & Mossa
22. Bellevalia glauca (Lindl.) Kunth
23. Bellevalia gracilis Feinbrun
24. Bellevalia hermonis Mouterde
25. Bellevalia heweri Wendelbo
26. Bellevalia hyacinthoides (Bertol.) K.Perss. & Wendelbo
27. Bellevalia koeiei Rech.f.
28. Bellevalia kurdistanica Feinbrun
29. Bellevalia leucantha K.Perss.
30. Bellevalia lipskyi (Miscz.) Wulff.
31. Bellevalia longipes Post
32. Bellevalia longistyla (Miscz.) Grossh.
33. Bellevalia macrobotrys Boiss.
34. Bellevalia mathewii Özhatay & Koçak
35. Bellevalia mauritanica Pomel
36. Bellevalia modesta Wendelbo
37. Bellevalia montana (K.Koch) Boiss., syns Bellevalia albana Woronow, Bellevalia makuensis Woronow ex Grossh., Bellevalia wilhelmsii (Steven) Woronow
38. Bellevalia mosheovii Feinbrun
39. Bellevalia multicolor Wendelbo
40. Bellevalia nivalis Boiss. & Kotschy
41. Bellevalia olivieri (Baker) Wendelbo, syn. Bellevalia latifolia Feinbrun
42. Bellevalia palmyrensis Feinbrun
43. Bellevalia paradoxa (Fisch. & C.A.Mey.) Boiss., syn. Bellevalia pycnantha (K.Koch) Losinsk.
44. Bellevalia parva Wendelbo
45. Bellevalia pelagica C.Brullo, Brullo & Pasta
46. Bellevalia rixii Wendelbo
47. Bellevalia romana (L.) Sweet
48. Bellevalia salah-eidii Täckh. & Boulos
49. Bellevalia saviczii Woronow
50. Bellevalia sessiliflora (Viv.) Kunth
51. Bellevalia shiraziana Parsa
52. Bellevalia sitiaca Kypriotakis & Tzanoud.
53. Bellevalia speciosa Woronow ex Grossh., syn. Bellevalia sarmatica (Pall. ex Georgi) Woronow
54. Bellevalia spicata (Raf.) Boiss.
55. Bellevalia stepporum Feinbrun
56. Bellevalia tabriziana Turrill
57. Bellevalia tauri Feinbrun
58. Bellevalia trifoliata (Ten.) Kunth
59. Bellevalia tristis Bornm.
60. Bellevalia turkestanica Franch., syn. Bellevalia atroviolacea Regel
61. Bellevalia validicarpa Ponert
62. Bellevalia warburgii Feinbrun
63. Bellevalia webbiana Parl.
64. Bellevalia wendelboi Maassoumi & Jafari
65. Bellevalia zoharyi Feinbrun

Recently described species include:

• Bellevalia iranica Alipour, Majidi, & Eker described in 2025 from Iran^[8]

Species formerly included^[2]

moved to Alrawia Althenia Hyacinthella Leopoldia Muscari Pseudomuscari

1. B. aleppica - Hyacinthella nervosa
2. B. aperta - Muscari armeniacum
3. B. atchleyi - Hyacinthella leucophaea subsp. atchleyi
4. B. australis - Althenia filiformis var. barrandonii
5. B. azurea - Pseudomuscari azureum
6. B. bellii - Alrawia bellii
7. B. bouriana - Leopoldia comosa
8. B. calandriniana - Leopoldia comosa
9. B. caucasica - Leopoldia caucasica
10. B. coelestis - Pseudomuscari coeleste
11. B. coerulea - Pseudomuscari coeruleum
12. B. comosa - Leopoldia comosa
13. B. cupaniana - Leopoldia gussonei
14. B. dalmatica - Hyacinthella dalmatica
15. B. dichroa - Alrawia bellii
16. B. fontanesii - Leopoldia maritima
17. B. forniculata - Pseudomuscari forniculatum
18. B. fuliginosa - Muscari fuliginosum
19. B. graeca - Leopoldia comosa
20. B. graminifolia - Leopoldia comosa
21. B. haynei - Hyacinthella nervosa
22. B. heldreichii - Hyacinthella heldreichii
23. B. hispida - Hyacinthella hispida
24. B. holzmannii - Leopoldia comosa
25. B. leucophaea - Hyacinthella leucophaea
26. B. lineata - Hyacinthella lineata
27. B. longipes (Boiss.) Bornm. 1939 not Post 1895 - Leopoldia longipes
28. B. maritima - Hyacinthella maritima
29. B. maritima subsp. weissii - Leopoldia weissii
30. B. micrantha - Hyacinthella micrantha
31. B. millingenii - Hyacinthella millingenii
32. B. monophylla - Muscari latifolium
33. B. muscarioides - Muscari latifolium
34. B. nervosa - Hyacinthella nervosa
35. B. oxycarpa - Alrawia bellii
36. B. pallens - Pseudomuscari pallens
37. B. persica - Hyacinthella persica
38. B. pharmacusana - Leopoldia comosa
39. B. pinardii - Leopoldia comosa
40. B. pseudomuscari - Pseudomuscari chalusicum
41. B. sartoriana - Leopoldia comosa
42. B. tenuiflora - Leopoldia tenuiflora
43. B. tenuiflora subsp. constricta - Leopoldia comosa
44. B. theraea - Leopoldia weissii
45. B. turkewiczii - Pseudomuscari coeleste
46. B. weissii - Leopoldia weissii