A range of bulbous perennials, native to Europe, North Africa and Central Asia. Often producing compact racemes of flowers, normally shades of blue, but with white, pink and yellow also. Normally diminutive in stature, but invaluable for an early splash of colour and scent in the garden. Great for growing in pots.
A valuable genus of spring-flowering nectar plants that attract bees in particular, including honeybees, bumblebees and solitary bees, especially the hairy-footed flower-bee. Several of the blue-flowered species have become naturalized in parts of Britain and Ireland, especially on light sandy soils, with one, M. neglectum, possibly native in the Brecklands of Norfolk and Suffolk.