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Perennial bulbous plant of the Asparagaceae family, Hyacinthoides hispanica is native to the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa, where it grows in light undergrowth, forest edges, and fresh meadows, at moderate altitudes. Introduced very early into European gardens, it has naturalized with disconcerting ease, willingly colonizing borders and embankments.
It reaches 30 to 50 cm in height in bloom. The leaves are long, ribbon-like, a bright and shiny green, forming dense clumps that persist until early summer. The floral stems, robust and well upright, bear clusters of 6 to 12 hanging bells, with spreading tepals, from bright blue-lilac to soft violet, sometimes white or pink depending on the individuals. Unlike its close British relative Hyacinthoides non-scripta, the clusters are less unilateral and the flowers more open, without notable fragrance.
In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from April to May. In cultivation under a temperate climate, it generally blooms in April-May depending on exposure.
Undemanding, it thrives in any ordinary soil, fresh to well-drained, in sun or partial shade. It multiplies rapidly by division of bulbs and by spontaneous seeding, which gives it a reputation as an invasive plant in some regions. Its vigor and spring blue make it a particularly effective mass plant for structuring large borders in spring.