the.com/hyacinth
a flower so fragrant it bullies every other bloom out of the room.
means A bulb-grown spring flower bearing dense spikes of fragrant, bell-shaped blooms in blues, purples, pinks, and whites.
from From Greek hyakinthos, the name of a flower tied to the myth of Hyakinthos, a beautiful youth loved by Apollo and killed by a stray discus; from his spilled blood the flower was said to spring, its petals supposedly marked with the mourning cry 'AI, AI.' The word likely predates Greek itself — a survivor of an older Aegean tongue, which is why its origins feel half-lost. It reached English through Latin hyacinthus.
- greek myth
- sprang from a dying prince's spilled blood
- toxic bulbs
- oxalic acid makes them itch like fire
- water type
- floating species choked entire lakes worldwide
- persian roots
- named for sapphire in old Persian poetry
- forcing trick
- chilled in glass to bloom indoors midwinter
hyacinthus — greek mythological youth loved by apollo, transformed into a flower after his death
water hyacinth — invasive aquatic plant clogging waterways across africa, asia, and south america since the 1800s
dutch hyacinth cultivars — ornamental flowering bulbs bred in netherlands, commercially dominant since 17th century tulip era