Kingdom Plantae Subfamily Scilloideae Order Asparagales | Family Asparagaceae Rank Genus | |
Similar Chionodoxa sardensis, Oziroe, Pseudogaltonia, Chionodoxa siehei, Brimeura | ||
× Chionoscilla is the genus name used for hybrids between the two closely related genera Chionodoxa and Scilla.
The hybrids between Scilla bifolia and Chionodoxa siehei were named × Chionoscilla allenii G.Nicholson, after their discoverer, James Allen. He noticed them in his garden in Shepton Mallet, England, at the end of the nineteenth century. As with most hybrids, individual plants vary; some have been given cultivar names, e.g. 'Fra Angelica'. Like its parents, × Chionoscilla allenii grows from bulbs and flowers freely in early spring. The flowers are various shades of blue from lilac to violet and are intermediate in size between those of the parents, up to 2.5 cm in diameter when fully open.
The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families regards Chionodoxa as part of Scilla, in which case the correct name for × Chionoscilla allenii is Scilla × allenii (G.Nicholson) Speta.