# Bellevalia

Bellevalia is a genus of plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. It was first described as a genus in 1808.
The approximately 65 species are found from the Mediterranean: Turkey (about 12 species) and Israel (12 species), to central Asia: Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan (two 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

The genus Bellevalia was first described in 1808 by Philippe-Isidore Picot de Lapeyrouse. The genus name honors the French botanist Pierre Richer de Belleval (1564-1632). 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, there are 65 Bellevalia species:
* Bellevalia anatolica B.Mathew & Özhatay
* Bellevalia assadii Wendelbo
* Bellevalia aucheri (Baker) Losinsk.
* Bellevalia brevipedicellata Turrill
* 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 dolichophylla Brullo & Miniss.
* 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 hermonis Mouterde
* Bellevalia heweri Wendelbo
* Bellevalia hyacinthoides (Bertol.) K.Perss. & Wendelbo
* Bellevalia koeiei Rech.f.
* Bellevalia kurdistanica Feinbrun
* Bellevalia leucantha K.Perss.
* Bellevalia lipskyi (Miscz.) Wulff.
* Bellevalia longipes Post
* Bellevalia longistyla (Miscz.) Grossh.
* Bellevalia macrobotrys Boiss.
* 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 pelagica C.Brullo, Brullo & Pasta
* Bellevalia rixii Wendelbo
* Bellevalia romana (L.) Sweet
* Bellevalia salah-eidii Täckh. & Boulos
* Bellevalia saviczii Woronow
* Bellevalia sessiliflora (Viv.) Kunth
* Bellevalia shiraziana Parsa
* 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 turkestanica Franch., syn. Bellevalia atroviolacea Regel
* Bellevalia validicarpa Ponert
* Bellevalia warburgii Feinbrun
* Bellevalia webbiana Parl.
* Bellevalia wendelboi Maassoumi & Jafari
* Bellevalia zoharyi Feinbrun

#### Species formerly included

moved to Alrawia Althenia Hyacinthella Leopoldia Muscari Pseudomuscari
* B. aleppica - Hyacinthella nervosa
* B. aperta - Muscari armeniacum
* B. atchleyi - Hyacinthella leucophaea subsp. atchleyi
* B. australis - Althenia filiformis var. barrandonii
* B. azurea - Pseudomuscari azureum
* B. bellii - Alrawia bellii
* B. bouriana - Leopoldia comosa
* B. calandriniana - Leopoldia comosa
* B. caucasica - Leopoldia caucasica
* B. coelestis - Pseudomuscari coeleste
* B. coerulea - Pseudomuscari coeruleum
* B. comosa - Leopoldia comosa
* B. cupaniana - Leopoldia gussonei
* B. dalmatica - Hyacinthella dalmatica
* B. dichroa - Alrawia bellii
* B. fontanesii - Leopoldia maritima
* B. forniculata - Pseudomuscari forniculatum
* B. fuliginosa - Muscari fuliginosum
* B. graeca - Leopoldia comosa
* B. graminifolia - Leopoldia comosa
* B. haynei - Hyacinthella nervosa
* B. heldreichii - Hyacinthella heldreichii
* B. hispida - Hyacinthella hispida
* B. holzmannii - Leopoldia comosa
* B. leucophaea - Hyacinthella leucophaea
* B. lineata - Hyacinthella lineata
* B. longipes (Boiss.) Bornm. 1939 not Post 1895 - Leopoldia longipes
* B. maritima - Hyacinthella maritima
* B. maritima subsp. weissii - Leopoldia 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 - Pseudomuscari pallens
* B. persica - Hyacinthella persica
* B. pharmacusana - Leopoldia comosa
* B. pinardii - Leopoldia comosa
* B. pseudomuscari - Pseudomuscari chalusicum
* B. sartoriana - Leopoldia comosa
* B. tenuiflora - Leopoldia tenuiflora
* B. tenuiflora subsp. constricta - Leopoldia comosa
* B. theraea - Leopoldia weissii
* B. turkewiczii - Pseudomuscari coeleste
* B. weissii - Leopoldia weissii