Scilla verna (spring squill)
A hardy spring bulb with attractive blue-violet flowers, spring squill is native to western Europe.
Species information
- Scientific name: Scilla verna Huds.
- Common name(s): spring squill, spring-flowered squill, sea onion
- Synonym(s): Scilla vernalis Salisb., Petranthe verna (Huds.) Salisb., Stellaris verna (Huds.) Bubani, Oncostema verna (Huds.) Speta, Tractema verna (Huds.) Speta. See full list here.
- Conservation status: Not assessed according to IUCN Red List criteria.
- Habitat: Short, dry, lime-rich grassland, and vegetated or rocky sea cliffs or maritime heath.
- Key uses: Ornamental.
- Known hazards: The whole plant is poisonous, and ingestion may cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, cardiac problems and in some cases death.
Taxonomy
- Class: Equisetopsida
- Subclass: Magnoliidae
- Superorder: Lilianae
- Order: Asparagales
- Family: Asparagaceae
- Genus: Scilla
About this species
Scilla verna is found in exposed coastal habitats around much of the western and northern coasts of western Europe and along the eastern coast of Ireland. It is one of only two squills native to the UK, the other being the autumn-flowering Scilla autumnalis (autumn squill).
Spring squill is a member of the Asparagaceae (subfamily Scilloideae). The generic name Scilla derives from the Greek skilla, which became the Latin scilla and was the ancient Greek name for another squill (Urginea maritima). The specific epithet verna comes from vernum, Latin for spring.
Although it can grow in large colonies in the wild, Scilla verna is an attractive ornamental species that can be appreciated as a specimen plant in containers and in rock gardens. It can also be planted densely in lawns to produce a carpet of blue flowers in spring.
Geography & Distribution
Spring squill is native to western Europe, from northern Portugal to Føroyar (Faroe Islands). It is found up to 2,000 m above sea level.
In its native coastal grassland and heath habitats it is often seen in association with Armeria maritima (thrift), Silene dioica (sea campion), Calluna vulgaris (heather), Festuca ovina (sheep’s fescue), Lotus corniculatus (bird’s-foot trefoil), Plantago maritima (sea plantain) and Thymus praecox (wild thyme).
It is a key component of the maritime heath community H7 (Calluna vulgaris-Scilla verna heath), as described in the British National Vegetation Classification System.
Description
Scilla verna growing in south Wales, near St Davids (Image: Richard Wilford)
Overview: A bulbous perennial up to 20 cm tall. Bulbs are ovoid and 10–20 mm in diameter.
Leaves: 2–7 basal, linear, deep-green leaves, measuring 3–20 cm × 2–5 mm.
Flowers: Star-like, lilac-blue to violet, each with a bluish basal bract. Flowers have six tepals (outer flower parts not differentiated into sepals and petals) and are grouped into dense inflorescences containing 2–12 flowers. Flowers contain both female and male parts and are unscented.
Fruits: Capsules, splitting open from the top when ripe.
Seeds: Black, ovoid, with small appendages.
Uses
Scilla verna is cultivated as an ornamental for its attractive display of delicate violet-blue flowers in spring. There are no known medicinal uses.
Millennium Seed Bank: Seed storage
The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership aims to save plant life worldwide, focusing on plants under threat and those of most use in the future. Seeds are dried, packaged and stored at a sub-zero temperature in our seed bank vault.
See Kew’s Seed Information Database for further information on Scilla verna seeds.
Cultivation
Spring squill is grown in the Rock Garden at Kew in free-draining soil topped with a fine grit layer, which aids drainage and helps display the plant. Similarly, potted specimens in the Davies Alpine House are grown in grit-topped, free-draining compost containing coir, sterilised soil, grit and sand.
Scilla verna can be propagated from seed collected in late summer. Autumn-sown seed should germinate the following spring and flower within three years. Plants can also be propagated vegetatively by dividing the bulbs during the dormant period.
This species at Kew
Pale form of Scilla verna emerging from a terracotta pot in Kew’s Alpine Unit (Image: Alice Lumb)
Spring squill has been cultivated at Kew since 1789. It can be seen growing in the ‘British natives’ section of Kew’s Rock Garden, to the right of the stream. When in flower, it is also often displayed in the Davies Alpine House. It can also be seen growing at Wakehurst Place.
Dried and alcohol-preserved specimens of Scilla verna are held in Kew’s Herbarium, where they are available to researchers by appointment. Further details of some of these specimens can be seen in Kew’s Herbarium Catalogue.
Useful links
Search Kew’s science databases for more information on Scilla verna
Visit the BSBI (Botanical Society of the British Isles) website for a map showing the distribution of Scilla verna across Great Britain and Ireland, from the 1930’s to the present day.
Royal Horticultural Society - Scilla verna
eMonocot - an online resource for monocot plants
References
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 161: 105–121.
Angiosperm Phylogeny Website (2012). Available online at: http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/apweb (accessed 26 April 2012).
Biological Records Centre (BRC) (2012). Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora: Scilla verna. Available online at: http://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/index.php?q=plant/scilla-verna (accessed 19 November 2012).
Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI). Maps Scheme. Available online at: http://www.bsbi.org.uk/ (accessed 19 November 2012).
Chase, M. W. & Reveal, J. L. (2009). A phylogenetic classification of the land plants to accompany APG III. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 161: 122–127.
Cope, T. (2009). The Wild Flora of Kew Gardens: A Cumulative Checklist from 1759. Kew Publishing, Surrey.
Gledhill, D. (2008). The Names of Plants, 4th Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Grey-Wilson, C. & Mathew, B. (1981). Bulbs: The Bulbous Plants of Europe and their Allies. Collins, London.
Halliwell, B. (1992). The Propagation of Alpine Plants and Dwarf Bulbs. Batsford, London.
Ingrouille, M. (1995). Historical Ecology of the British Flora. Chapman & Hall, London.
IUCN (2012). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Version 2012.2. Available online at: www.iucnredlist.org (accessed 14 November 2012).
JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation Committee) (2012). The Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain: Conservation Designations for UK Taxa. Available online at: http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=3408 (accessed 29 April 2012).
Mabberley, D. J. (2008). Mabberley’s Plant-book: a Portable Dictionary of Plants, their Classification and Uses, 3rd Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Mabey, R. (1996). Flora Britannica. Sinclair-Stevenson, London.
Nelson, L. S., Shih, R. D. & Balick, M. J. (2007). Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants. New York Botanical Garden/Springer, New York.
Phillips, R. & Rix, M. (2002). The Botanical Garden: Volume II, Perennials and Annuals. Macmillan, London.
Rodwell, J. S. (1991). British Plant Communities Volume 2 - Mires and Heaths. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Stace, C. (2010). New Flora of the British Isles, 3rd Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
The Plant List (2010). Scilla verna. Published on the Internet at: http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-288379 (accessed 19 November 2012).
Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M & Webb, P. A. (1980). Flora Europaea, Volume 5: Alismataceae to Orchidaceae (Monocotyledons). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
WCSP (2012). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet: http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
(accessed 06 November 2012).
Kew Science Editors: Rhian Smith and Alice Lumb
Kew contributors: Anna Trias Blasi and Richard Wilford
Copyediting: Emma Tredwell
Although every effort has been taken to ensure that the information contained in these pages is reliable and complete, notes on hazards, edibility and suchlike included here are recorded information and do not constitute recommendations. No responsibility will be taken for readers’ own actions. Full website terms and conditions.
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