Interesting Facts
Description
Genus Scilla
Herbs, perennial
, scapose
, from bulbs. Bulbs perennial, ovoid
to globose
, composed of free
scales
, progressively renewed annually. Leaves few, basal. Inflorescences racemose or cymose
, 1-many-flowered, sometimes bracteate
; bracts none or 1, subtending
each flower. Flowers: perianth usually blue or purple, rarely white; tepals distinct
to base
, each 1-veined; stamens 6; filaments
inserted
at base of perianth, distinct; anthers
dorsifixed
, introrse
; pistil 1, 3-carpellate; ovary superior, 3-locular, septal nectaries present, ovules 1-10 per locule; style simple
. Fruits capsular
, 3-lobed, subglobose, dehiscence loculicidal. Seeds 3-30, not winged
, globose to ellipsoid
, elaiosomes present. x
= 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
Species ca.
50: introduced
; Eurasia
, especially Mediterranean area and sw Asia; s Africa.
A number of species of Scilla are commonly grown for their early, showy spring
flowers, and present the possibility of becoming naturalized
. In particular, S. bifolia Linnaeus, two-leaved squill, has been reported in Michigan (E. G. Voss 1972-1985, vol.
1) and northwestern Indiana (F. Swink and G. S. Wilhelm 1994). The summer-flowering hyacinth squill, S. hyacinthoides Linnaeus [Nectaroscilla hyacinthoides (Linnaeus) Parlatore], has been collected along roadsides near Mooringsport, Louisiana, and in Navarro County, Texas; it is readily distinguished from the spring-flowering species by its tall scapes (30-80 cm) with more than 40 flowers, and its more numerous
leaves (8-10).
F. Speta (1998, 1998b) drastically split Scilla, placing the Eurasian members
into 10-12 mostly small genera on the basis of molecular (M.
Pfosser and F. Speta 1999) and karyological (J. Greilhuber 1982; J. Greilhuber et al.
1981; F. Speta 1979) studies, as well as morphological data. Some of these segregate
genera correspond to subgenera
and sections
recognized in other Eurasian treatments over the past 75 years (e.g.
, P. Chouard 1930; J. McNeill 1980; E. V. Mordak 1984), but others represent even finer splitting
.[1]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
()
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
()
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Class:
Spermatopsida
()
- Brongniart, 1843
- Subclass:
Liliidae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Lilianae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Order:
Asparagales
()
- Bromhead, 1838
- Suborder:
Asparagineae
()
-
- Family:
Asparagaceae
()
- A.L. de Jussieu, 1789, nom. cons.
- Tribe:
Hyacintheae
()
- Genus:
Scilla
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1753
- Squill [Greek skilla, squill, the officinal or its source, Urginea maritima, syn. Scilla maritima]
- Specific epithet:
chladnii
- Schur
- Botanical name: - Scilla chladnii Schur
- Specific epithet:
chladnii
- Schur
- Genus:
Scilla
(
- Tribe:
Hyacintheae
(
- Family:
Asparagaceae
(
- Suborder:
Asparagineae
(
- Order:
Asparagales
(
- Superorder:
Lilianae
(
- Subclass:
Liliidae
(
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Notes
Publishing author : Schur Publication : in Verh. Siebenb. Ver. Naturw. i. (1850) 39
Similar Species
Members of the genus Scilla
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 23 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
S. amoena (Star Hyacinth) · S. autumnalis (Autumn Squill) · S. bifolia (Alpine Squill) · S. bifolia 'Rosea' (Alpine Squill) · S. maderensis (Madeira Squill) · S. mischtschenkoana (Early Scilla) · S. morrisii (Morris Squill) · S. numidica (Fall Squill) · S. orientalis (Oriental Two-Leaved Squill) · S. pauciflora (Scilla) · S. peruviana (Caribbean Lily) · S. peruvianavar. alba (Caribbean Lily) · S. pratensis (Amethyst Meadow Squill) · S. rosenii (Scilla) · S. scilloides (Squill) · S. siberica (Siberian Squill) · S. siberica 'Alba' (Siberian Squill) · S. siberica 'Boreas' (Siberian Squill 'boreas') · S. siberica 'Spring Beauty' (Siberian Squill) · S. tubergeniana (English Bluebell) · S. verna (Spring Squill) · S. violacea (South African Squill) · S. winogradowii (Wax Flower Orchid)
More Info
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Further Reading
- Chouard, P. 1930. Types de Développement de lAppareil Végétatif Chez les Scillées. D.Sc. thesis. University of Paris. [Preprinted from Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot., sér. 10, 13: 131322. 1931.]
- McNeill, J. 1980. Scilla. In: T. G. Tutin et al., eds. 19641980. Flora Europaea. 5 vols. Cambridge. Vol. 5, pp. 4143.
- Mordak, E. V. 1984. Scilla. In: P. H. Davis, ed. 19651988. Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands. 10 vols. Edinburgh. Vol. 8, pp. 214224.
- Speta, F. 1998b. Systematische Analyse der Gattung Scilla L. (Hyacinthaceae). Phyton (Horn) 38: 1141.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 15, 2012.
Identifiers
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 4550745
Footnotes
- J. McNeill "Scilla". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 58, 315, 320. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
