Scilla peruviana

Scilla peruviana, the Portuguese squill,^[2] is a species of Scilla native to the western Mediterranean region in Iberia, Italy, and northwest Africa.^[1][3] It is a bulb-bearing herbaceous perennial plant. The bulb is 6–8 cm in diameter, white with a covering of brown scales. The leaves are linear, 20–60 cm long and 1–4 cm broad, with 5-15 leaves produced each spring. The flowering stem is 15–40 cm tall, bearing a dense pyramidal raceme of 40-100 flowers; each flower is blue, 1–2 cm in diameter, with six tepals. The foliage dies down in summer, re-appearing in the autumn.

Portuguese squill
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asparagaceae
Subfamily:	Scilloideae
Genus:	Scilla
Species:	S. peruviana
Binomial name
Scilla peruviana L.[1]
Synonyms[1]
Many, including: Caloscilla elegans Jord. & Fourr. Hyacinthus peruvianus (L.) Vilm. Melomphis peruviana (L.) Raf.

Name

Although the epithet peruviana means "from Peru", it is strictly a western Mediterranean species. Linnaeus named the species in 1753, citing an earlier name given to the plant by Carolus Clusius, Hyacinthus stellatus peruanus.^[4] Clusius mentioned the species as growing in the Antwerp garden of a certain Everardus Munichoven, who reportedly got the plants from Peru.^[5] The error was already mentioned in 1804 in Curtis's Botanical Magazine.^[6] There is no reliable source for the story about a ship named 'Peru', shipping plants from Spain to Northern Europe, misleading Clusius or Linnaeus into giving the erroneous name.^[7]

Cultivation and uses

It is commonly grown as an ornamental plant for its spring flowers; several cultivars are available ranging in colour from white to light or dark blue, or violet. In some areas it is also known as hyacinth-of-Peru,^[3] Cuban-lily,^[3] or Peruvian scilla.

It is not entirely hardy, suffering from prolonged frost. The best environment is a warm mediterranean climate similar to its native habitat.^[8]

See also

• List of Scilla species

References

1. "Scilla peruviana L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
2. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
3. "Scilla peruviana". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
4. Linnaeus, C. (1753). Species Plantarum. Vol. 1. Stockholm: Laurentius Salvius. p. 309.
5. Clusius, C. (1601). Rariorum plantarum historia. Antwerp: Plantijn Moretus. p. 182.
   Clusius writes: Primum autem locum merito sibi vindicabit elegant et rarissimus ille, quem, ex Peruano orbe delatum, in suo horto alebat Everardus Munichoven et florentem suis coloribus exprimi curabat. A French translation of it is to be found here: Cette [Hyacinthus] élégante et très rare, rapportée de la région du Pérou, que cultivait dans son jardin Everard de Munich[oven] (à qui cette étude tient à coeur) et qu'il soignait en fleurs pour ses couleurs parmi les plus belles.
6. Sims, J., ed. (1804). "Scilla peruviana". Curtis's Botanical Magazine. 20: 749.
7. O'Hara, S.A. (2019). "What's in a Name – Scilla peruviana". Website California Horticultural Society.
8. "All about Scilla peruviana". Longfield Gardens. Retrieved 30 May 2021.