Scilla verna, commonly known as spring squill,
Description
It is a small plant, usually reaching 5-15 centimetres in height. It is
perennial plant and grows from a
bulb which is 10-15 millimetres across and
ovoid in shape. Two to seven
leaf grow from the base of the plant; they are long and narrow, measuring 3–20 cm by 2–5 mm. The flowers grow in a dense cluster of two to twelve at the top of the upright stem. They are scentless and have six violet-blue
, 5–8 mm long. Each flower has a 5–15 mm long, bluish
bract at the base. The
are ovoid and black. The
diploid number of
is 20 or 22.
Habitat
The plant occurs from
Morocco north through
Portugal,
Spain,
France,
Great Britain (particularly the west coast) and
Ireland (mainly along the east coast), reaching as far as the
Faroe Islands and
Norway.
It is found in short dry grassy areas, usually near the sea, though it is found at 415 metres above sea level on
Foula.
It is one of the key components of the H7 plant community in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It was chosen as the county flower for
County Down in
Northern Ireland after a public vote organised by the charity
Plantlife in 2002.
Ecology
A
smut fungus,
Antherospora tractemae, infects the flowers. It is named after a synonym of the hostplant,
Tractema verna. The
phylogeny of the smut fungus supports the alternative
taxonomy placing the hostplant in the genus
Tractema.
The leaves are infected by the rust fungi Uromyces scillinus and Uromyces scillarum.[
]
See also
-
Stace, Clive A. (1997) New Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press.
-
Tutin, T. G. et al. (1980) Flora Europaea, Volume 5. Cambridge University Press.
External links
