Scilla siberica

Description

Growing to 10 - tall by 5 cm wide, it is a bulbous perennial, with two to four strap-shaped leaves appearing in early spring, at the same time as the nodding, blue, bell-shaped flowers.

The flowers have six tepals and six stamens, and are arranged singly or in racemes of two or three. Petals may be reflexed to the horizontal when sunlight is bright, but are more often cup-shaped. The flowers are usually blue, but those of Scilla siberica var. alba are white. The stamens of Scilla are separate, unlike those of the related genus Puschkinia, which are fused into a tube. The pollen is dark blue.

After flowering, the flower stems become limp as capsules (pods) mature. At maturity, the capsules become purple and split open, releasing small, dark brown seeds. When the seeds are mature, the leaves wither and the plant goes dormant until the next spring.

The seedlings are hollow-leaved.

Cultivation

S. siberica is cultivated for its bluebell-like flowers. It naturalizes rapidly from seed. At 15 cm, it is suitable for planting in grass, and will spread by seed to form large colonies that go dormant by the time grass needs to be mowed. In the Midwestern United States it is becoming invasive in some situations.

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Gallery

Image:Scilla siberica pods.jpg|Seed capsules Image:Scilla_siberica_alba_bulbs.jpg|Bulbs Image:Park Klepacza Lodz.jpg|Klepacza Park in Łodz, Poland Image:Scilla siberica Indiana University.jpg|Pendulous flowers at various stages of development File:20210430 SiberianSquill-SQ1.jpg|In Calgary, Alberta in April File:Scilla siberica пыльца.tif|Pollen grains under a microscope with different illumination methods (EPI illumination, bright field, differential interference contrast, phase contrast, autofluorescence)

References

References

1. . (n.d.). ["''Scilla siberica'' Andrews"](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:927545-1). *The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew*.
2. "''Scilla siberica'' Andrews".
3. "''Scilla siberica''".
4. (2008). "RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants". Dorling Kindersley.
5. {{Minnesota Wildflowers. Scilla siberica (Siberian Squill). flower. siberian-squill
6. "RHS Plant Selector - ''Scilla siberica''".
7. (July 2017). "AGM Plants - Ornamental". Royal Horticultural Society.