Biology:Scilla litardierei

Short description: Species of flowering plant

Scilla litardierei
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asparagaceae
Subfamily:	Scilloideae
Genus:	Scilla
Species:	S. litardierei
Binomial name
Scilla litardierei Breistr. (1954)
Synonyms
Chouardia litardierei (Breistr.) Speta Nectaroscilla litardierei (Breistr.) Trávn. Scilla amethystina Vis. Scilla italica Host Scilla pratensis Waldst. & Kit.

Scilla litardierei flowers

Scilla litardierei, the amethyst meadow squill or Dalmatian scilla, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae. A bulbous perennial, with blue grape-hyacinth like flowers, blooming in late spring, much later than the more popular Siberian squill and later than Muscari which it resembles.

Description

Scilla litardierei has 3-6 grass-like leaves, 3-8mm wide, tapering to a point. Up to 70 blue-violet flower buds are borne on each stem in a dense raceme, opening into star-shaped flowers, 15–20 cm high. Preferring partial shade, it will naturalise and spread in favourable conditions.

Habitat

It originates in the western Balkans (hence Dalmatian scilla), and in its original habitat in Slovenia it is considered an endangered species, flowering in May–June.

Taxonomy

The exact taxonomic circumscription of the genus Scilla and related genera has proven very difficult, as noted by Stedje in 2001. "The definition of genera and the assignment of species to genera within the family Hyacinthaceae or subfamily Scilleae of the family Liliaceae, have troubled taxonomists since Linnaeus. The group is poor in qualitative characters, which has made it difficult to define stable genera based on good diagnostic characters. Species have often been moved from genus to genus either due to different opinions on generic delimitation or to misinterpretation of characters." Previously placed within the Liliaceae family, Scilla was subsequently reclassified as Asparaginaceae (subfamily Scilloideae, tribe Hyacintheae, subtribe Hyacinthinae).

Based on DNA sequence studies, the Austrian botanist Franz Speta had proposed to re-ascribe this species into a separate genus, Chouardia, within the Hyacintheae (1998). However, the accepted and preferred name is Scilla litardierei. The synonyms Scilla amethystina Fish., Scilla pratensis Waldst. & Kit., Scilla italica Host and Scilla nutans Alsch. are no longer valid.

Cultivation

It was introduced to Britain in 1827. It has become much more easily available since 2004. In cultivation in the UK Scilla litardierei has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. It is hardy down to −20 °C (−4 °F).

See also

• List of Scilla species

Bibliography

Articles

• Angiosperm Phylogeny Group IV (2016). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 181 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1111/boj.12385. 
• Pfosser, Martin; Speta, Franz (1999). "Phylogenetics of Hyacinthaceae Based on Plastid DNA Sequences". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 86 (4): 852–875. doi:10.2307/2666172. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2666172. 
• Stedje, Brita (2001). "Generic Delimitation of Hyacinthaceae, with Special Emphasis on Sub-Saharan Genera". Systematics and Geography of Plants 71 (2): 449–454. doi:10.2307/3668693. 

Databases

• {{citation

| mode = cs1 | title = Scilla litardierei | work = Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) | url = | publisher = [[Organization:Agricultural Research ServAgricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) | access-date = }}

• Royal Horticultural Society

Websites

• Alpine Garden Society
• Tesselaar: Scilla 'Amethyst Meadow Squill'

Wikidata ☰ Q470338 entry