scilla verna
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|taxon = Scilla verna
|name = Spring squill
|image = Scilla verna Cornwall.jpg
|authority = Huds.
|synonyms = Tractema verna (Huds.) Speta
}}
Scilla verna, commonly known as spring squill,{{cite book |author1=David Chapman |title=Exploring the Cornish Coast |date=2008 |publisher=Alison Hodge |location=Penzance |isbn=9780906720561 |page=117}}{{cite web | vauthors=((Stroh, P. A.)), ((Humphrey, T. A.)), ((Burkmar, R. J.)), ((Pescott, O. L.)), ((Roy, D. B.)), ((Walker, K. J.)) | year=2023 | title=((Scilla verna Huds.)) |website=BSBI Online Plant Atlas 2020 | url=https://plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9h.m3h | access-date=19 March 2025}} is a flowering plant native to Western Europe and Morocco.{{cite web | title=((Scilla verna Huds.)) |website=Plants of the World Online | url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:541086-1 | access-date=19 March 2025}} It belongs to the squill genus Scilla. Its star-like blue flowers are produced in April and May.
Description
It is a small plant, usually reaching 5-15 centimetres in height. It is perennial and grows from a bulb which is 10-15 millimetres across and ovoid in shape. Two to seven leaves 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 tepals, 5–8 mm long. Each flower has a 5–15 mm long, bluish bract at the base. The seeds are ovoid and black. The diploid number of chromosomes is 20 or 22.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
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.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}} It was chosen as the county flower for County Down in Northern Ireland after a public vote organised by the charity Plantlife in 2002.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
Ecology
File:Antherospora tractemae 02.jpg on flowers of Scilla verna.]]
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.{{cite journal | vauthors=((Piatek, M.)), ((Lutz, M.)), ((Smith, P. A.)), ((Chater, A. O.)) | journal=IMA Fungus | title=A new species of Antherospora supports the systematic placement of its host plant | volume=2 | issue=2 | pages=135–142 | publisher=International Mycological Association | date=1 December 2011 | issn=22106359 | doi=10.5598/IMAFUNGUS.2011.02.02.04| doi-access=free }}
The leaves are infected by the rust fungi Uromyces scillinus and Uromyces scillarum.{{cite web| title=Scilla verna |website=Plant Parasites of Europe | url=https://bladmineerders.nl/host-plants/plantae/spermatopsida/angiosperma/monocots/asparagales/asparagaceae/scilloideae/hyacintheae/scilla/scilla-verna/ | access-date=19 March 2025}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
- 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
{{Commons|Scilla verna}}
{{Wikispecies|Scilla verna}}
- [http://www.bsbimaps.org.uk/atlas/map_page.php?spid=1857.0&sppname=Scilla+verna&commname=Spring+Squill Distribution of Scilla verna in Britain and Ireland]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3034404}}