A week ago, a friend gave me a hyacinth bulb in a cute vase with a Valentine ribbon. Today, it bloomed! You can see it in the photo on the left. The flowers made the plant so top-heavy that it would no longer stand up. I had to put toothpicks all around the bulb to make it stable. It has a powerful scent that permeates the room. Flowers really can brighten up a house, especially during this pandemic when we are spending so much time indoors. I often marvel at their creation. From tiny, fragile, pastel hyacinths to giant, sturdy, yellow sunflowers, the variety of flowers available is mind-boggling. They evoke at least three of our senses — sight, smell and touch. Some flowers are even edible. I once had lavender ice cream that was delicious. I have seen TV chefs use edible flowers as a garnish. I suppose they even can evoke our sense of hearing if we listen to them swish or rustle in the wind or hear that satisfying snap when we cut flowers. So, there you have it. Flowers are very sensual. Let’s find out more about one of them — hyacinths.
According to Wikipedia, Hyacinthus is a small genus of bulbous, spring-blooming perennials. They are fragrant flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae and are commonly called hyacinths. The genus is native to the area of the eastern Mediterranean from the north of Bulgaria through to the northern part of the region of Palestine.
Several species of Brodiaea, Scilla and other plants that were formerly classified in the lily family and have flower clusters borne along the stalk also have common names with the word "hyacinth" in them. Hyacinths should also not be confused with the genus Muscari, which are commonly known as grape hyacinths.
Description
Hyacinthus grows from bulbs, each producing around four to six linear leaves and one to three spikes or racemes of flowers. In the wild species, the flowers are widely spaced with as few as two per raceme in H. litwinovii and typically six to eight in H. orientalis which grows to a height of 6 to 8 inches. Cultivars of H. orientalis have much denser flower spikes and are generally more robust.
Systematics
The genus name Hyacinthus was attributed to Joseph Pitton de Tournefort when used by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It is derived from a Greek name — hyákinthos — used for a plant by Homer, the flowers supposedly having grown up from the blood of a youth of this name accidentally killed by the god Zephyr. The original wild plant known as hyákinthos to Homer has been identified with Scilla bifolia, among other possibilities. Linnaeus defined the genus Hyacinthus widely to include species now placed in other genera of the subfamily Scilloideae, such as Muscari e.g., his Hyacinthus botryoides and Hyacinthoides e.g., his Hyacinthus non-scriptus.
Hyacinthus was formerly the type genus of the separate family Hyacinthaceae; prior to that the genus was placed in the lily family Liliaceae.
Species
Three species are placed within the genus Hyacinthus:
Hyacinthus litwinovii
Hyacinthus orientalis, natural form
Hyacinthus transcaspicus
The genus Hyacinthus is considered native to the eastern Mediterranean, including Turkey, Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Israel. It is widely naturalized elsewhere, including Europe (the Netherlands, France, Sardinia, Italy, Sicily, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Greece and Cyprus), Korea, North America (United States and Canada) and central Mexico, Cuba and Haiti.
Cultivation
The Dutch or common hyacinth of house and garden culture — H. orientalis, native to southwest Asia — was so popular in the 18th century that over 2,000 cultivars were grown in the Netherlands, its chief commercial producer. This hyacinth has a single dense spike of fragrant flowers in shades of red, blue, white, orange, pink, violet or yellow. A form of the common hyacinth is the less hardy and smaller blue- or white-petalled Roman hyacinth of florists. These flowers need indirect sunlight and should be watered moderately.
Toxicity
Hyacinth bulbs are poisonous; they contain oxalic acid. Handling hyacinth bulbs can cause mild skin irritation. Protective gloves are recommended. Hyacinth bulbs contain a toxin which can irritate dogs’ mouths and gastrointestinal tract, resulting in drooling, vomiting and diarrhea.
Some members of the plant subfamily Scilloideae are commonly called hyacinths but are not members of the genus Hyacinthus and are edible; one example is the tassel hyacinth, which forms part of the cuisine of some Mediterranean countries.
Culture
Persian/Iranian Haft-Seen or Haft-sin table setting
Hyacinths are often associated with spring and rebirth. The hyacinth flower is used in the Haft-Seen table setting for the Persian New Year celebration, Nowruz, held at the spring equinox. Haft-sin or Haft-seen is an arrangement of seven symbolic items whose names start with the letter "س" pronounced as "seen" the 15th letter in the Persian alphabet; haft is Persian for seven. The Persian word for hyacinth is سنبل sonbol.
The following are the primary items of Haft-sin, whose Persian names begin with the letter sin in the Persian alphabet.
1. Sabzeh (سبزه) – wheat, barley, mung bean or lentil sprouts grown in a dish.
2. Samanu (سمنو) – wheat germ sweet pudding.
3. Senjed (سنجد) – Persian olive.
4. Serkeh (سرکه) – vinegar.
5. Seeb (سیب) – apple.
6. Seer (سیر) – garlic.
7. Somāq (سماق) – sumac.
Coins (سکه sekke), hyacinth (سنبل sonbol) and clock (ساعت saat) are sometimes included too. Other symbolic items that are typically used to accompany Haft-sin include a mirror, candles, painted eggs, goldfish and traditional Persian confectioneries.
A "book of wisdom" is also commonly included, which might be the Quran, Bible, Avesta — primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism composed in Avestan language, Shahnameh — long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and the national epic of Greater Iran or the divān of Hafez, a Persian poet.
The Haft-Seen table represents nature. By tradition, Iranian families take great pains to create the most beautiful Haft-Seen table that they can, for not only does it embody values both traditional and spiritual, it is also appreciated by the visitors during Nowruz visiting exchanges as a reflection of the families' aesthetic sense and good taste.
Items that start with Persian letter "س":
- Sabzeh (سبزه): the symbol of rebirth and growth.
- Samanu (سمنو): the symbol of power and strength.
- Senjed (سنجد): the symbol of love.
- Somāq (سماق): the symbol of sunrise.
- Serkeh (سرکه): the symbol of patience.
- Seeb (سیب): the symbol of beauty.
- Seer (سیر): the symbol of health and medicine.
Other items that start with Persian letter "س" that are sometimes included:
- Sonbol (سنبل): the symbol of spring's arrival.
- Sekkeh (سکه): the symbol of wealth and prosperity.
- Saat (ساعت): the symbol of time.
Items that don't start with "س" but, nonetheless, are invariably included:
- Eggs (تخممرغ رنگی): the symbol of fertility.
- Mirror (آینه): the symbol of self-reflection.
- Candle (شمع): the symbol of enlightenment.
- Goldfish (ماهی قرمز): the symbol of progress.
- Book (کتاب): the symbol of wisdom.
“The Waste Land” by T.S. Eliot
The hyacinth appears in the first section of T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” during a conversation between the narrator and the "hyacinth girl" that takes place in the spring.
“You gave me hyacinths first a year ago; “They called me the hyacinth girl.” —Yet when we came back, late, from the Hyacinth garden, Your arms full, and your hair wet, I could not Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither Living nor dead, and I knew nothing, Looking into the heart of light, the silence.
Greek mythology
In Greek mythology, Hyacinth was a very beautiful Spartan prince and lover of the god Apollo. Hyacinth was also admired by the God of West wind Zephyrus, the God of North wind Boreas and also by a mortal man named Thamyris. But Hyacinth chose Apollo over the others. The couple indulged themselves in hunting and climbing steep, rough mountains around Sparta. With Apollo, Hyacinth visited all of Apollo's sacred lands in the chariot drawn by swans. Apollo taught to his lover the use of bow, of music and the lyre, the art of prophecy and exercises in the gymnasium.
One day, Apollo was teaching him the game of quoit, a traditional game which involves the throwing of metal, rope or rubber rings over a set distance, usually to land over or near a spike. They decided to have a friendly competition by taking turns to throw the discus. Apollo threw first, with such a strength that the discus slit the clouds in the sky. Hyacinth ran behind it to catch it and impress Apollo. But as the discus hit the ground, it bounced back, hitting Hyacinth's head and wounding him fatally. Alternatively, Zephyrus is held responsible for the death of Hyacinth. Jealous that Hyacinth preferred the radiant Apollo, Zephyrus blew Apollo's quoit boisterously off course to kill Hyacinth.
Apollo's face turned as pale as his dying lover as he held him in his arms. He used all his medicinal skills, and even tried giving ambrosia to heal Hyacinth's wound, but in vain, for he couldn't cure the wound done by the Fates. When Hyacinth died, Apollo wept, blaming himself. He wished to become a mortal and join his lover in his death. However, as that was not possible, Apollo promised that he would always remember Hyacinth in his songs and the music of his lyre. From Hyacinth's blood that was spilled, Apollo created a flower, the hyacinth. This flower, on whose petals Apollo had inscribed the words of despair, "AI AI" – "alas" was considered by the Greeks to be the most beautiful of all flowers.
Hyacinth macaw
The hyacinth macaw or hyacinthine macaw is a parrot native to central and eastern South America. With a length — from the top of its head to the tip of its long, pointed tail — of about one meter, it is longer than any other species of parrot. It is the largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species; the flightless kakapo of New Zealand outweighs it at up to 3.5 kg. While generally easily recognized, it could be confused with the smaller Lear’s macaw. Habitat loss and the trapping of wild birds for the pet trade have taken a heavy toll on their population in the wild, so the species is classified as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, and it is protected by its listing on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Saints Protus and Hyacinth
Tradition holds that Protus and Hyacinth were brothers. They served as chamberlains to Saint Eugenia and were baptized along with her by Helenus, Bishop of Heliopolis. Devoting themselves zealously to the study of Sacred Scripture, they lived with the hermits of Egypt and later accompanied Eugenia to Rome. There, they were arrested for their Christianity by Emperor Gallienus (260–268). Refusing to deny their faith, they were first scourged and then beheaded on September 11. They were Christian martyrs during the persecution of Emperor Valerian (257–259 AD). The day of their annual commemoration is mentioned in the “Depositio Martyrum” on September 11, in the chronographia for the year 354.
Hyacinth of Caesarea
Hyacinth was a young Christian living at the start of the second century, who is honored as amartyr and a saint by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
According to tradition, he was a native of Caesarea in Cappadocia, a member of a Christian family. As a boy, he was appointed to serve as an assistant to the chamberlain to the Emperor Trajan. His failure to participate in the ceremonial sacrifices to the official Roman gods soon came to be noticed by other members of the Imperial household.
When he was denounced as a Christian, Hyacinth proclaimed his faith. As a result, he was imprisoned and underwent numerous scourgings and tortures. He was deliberately served only meat which had been blessed for sacrifice to the gods, the eating of which was banned by both Judaism and Christianity. Thus, he starved to death in 108 AD, dying at the age of 12. Just before his death, legend says, his jailers saw him being comforted by angels, who bestowed a crown on him.
Hyacinthus died in the city of Rome. Later, the saint’s relics were transferred to Caesarea.
His body is preserved and venerated in the abbey church of the former Cistercian Abbey of Fürstenfeld, of which the church is the only surviving structure. He gives his name to the San Jacinto River in Texas, and many other sites in the U.S. are named "San Jacinto" from that.
Hyacinth of Poland
Called the "Apostle of the North," Hyacinth was the son of Eustachius Konski of the noble family of Odrowąż. While in Rome, he witnessed a miracle performed by Dominic of Osma, and became a Dominican friar.
One of the major miracles attributed to Hyacinth came about during a Mongol attack on Kiev. As the friars prepared to flee the invading forces, Hyacinth went to save the ciborium containing the Blessed Sacrament from the tabernacle in the monastery chapel, when he heard the voice of Mary, the mother of Jesus, asking him to take her, too.
Hyacinth lifted the large, stone statue of Mary, as well as the ciborium. He was easily able to carry both, despite the fact that the statue weighed far more than he could normally lift. Thus, he saved them both. For this reason he is usually shown holding a monstrance — a vessel used in the Roman Catholic Church for the more convenient exhibition of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic host during Eucharistic adoration or Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament — (though they did not come into use until several centuries later) and a statue of Mary.
The Polish exclamation Święty Jacku z pierogami! — "St. Hyacinth and his pierogi!" — is an old-time saying, a call for help in some hopeless circumstance. It has derived from two legends. One of them is about his visit on July 13, 1238 to Kościelec. During his visit, a hailstorm broke out, destroying crops and leaving people with the terrible prospect of poverty and famine. Hyacinth told them to pray. Next day, the crops were miraculously restored. The people then treated Hyacinth to pierogi made from those crops as a token of gratitude. The second legend mentions Hyacinth feeding people with pierogi during a famine caused by the Mongol invasion of 1241.
Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin, better known by monastic name Hyacinth
Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin (August 29, 1777 – May 11, 1853, St. Petersburg), better known under his archimandrite monastic name Hyacinth (sometimes rendered as Joacinth) or Iakinf was one of the founding fathers of Russian Sinology, an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to the examination which Chinese scholars made of their own civilization." He translated many works in Chinese into Russian which were then translated into other European languages.
“Hyacinth House” by the Doors
"Hyacinth House" is a song by the American rock band the Doors. It appears on the L.A.Woman album released in 1971, the last album that lead singer Jim Morrison recorded with the band. The song was recorded on a four-track tape machine; all the other songs on L.A. Woman were recorded on a professional quality 8-channel recorder.] As with the other songs on L.A. Woman, the album liner notes list the songwriters as the Doors; the performance rights organization ASCAP shows the writers as the individual Doors members. However, the music has also been attributed to keyboardist Ray Manzarek, which references Frédéric Chopin's “Polonaise in A-flat majob, Op. 53” during the organ solo, and the lyrics to Morrison, while he was at guitarist Robby Krieger's beach house.
The song's lyrics refer to the mythological Hyacinth, who was a beautiful youth and lover of the Greek god Apollo. According to the myth, Apollo accidentally killed Hyacinthus in a discus throwing contest when the latter ran to catch Apollo's discus in an effort to impress the god. After the unfortunate death, Apollo refused to let Hades claim the youth. Rather, from Hyacinthus' blood, Apollo created the hyacinth, a plant with a fragrant cluster of flowers.
This interpretation of "Hyacinth House" is furthermore based on the song's lyrical reference to another Doors' song, "The End," which itself includes the line "my only friend, the end." The line "someone who doesn’t need me" refers to Morrison's troubles with Pamela Courson. According to Krieger, the line "I see the bathroom is clear" referred to Morrison's friend Babe Hill leaving the bathroom so Morrision could use it. Krieger has also noted that the line "To please the lions" was inspired after Morrison was in Robby Krieger's house and saw a baby bobcat that he had. Doors' drummer John Densmore described the song as one of Jim Morrison's "saddest songs."
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