1. Scilla siberica Andrews (squill, Siberian squill)

Pl. 104 c; Map 435

Plants perennial, with bulbs, lacking the odor of onion or garlic. Aerial stems 8–20 cm long, unbranched, erect, glabrous. Leaves 2–4, 8–15 cm long, glabrous, basal, linear, folded longitudinally in the lower half. Inflorescences at the tips of the aerial stems, racemes of 2–4 flowers or sometimes reduced to a single flower. Flowers nodding, with stalks 1–9 mm long, subtended by minute, ovate bracts, none of them replaced by bulblets. Perianth 12–14 mm long, spreading, the sepals and petals free, linear to narrowly oblong, with 1 vein, deep blue. Stamens 6, free. Style 1, the stigma capitate. Ovary superior, with 3 locules, each with 2–10 ovules. Fruits rarely if ever produced in North America, globose capsules. March–April.

Introduced, uncommon and sporadic (native of Russia and surrounding countries, widely cultivated elsewhere, and occasionally becoming naturalized sporadically in the eastern U.S.). Disturbed mesic bottomland forests, roadsides, fencerows, and lawns.

Siberian squill is a common spring bulb species in gardens. A variety of cultivars are known, including white-flowered forms, which have not escaped from cultivation thus far. All of the Scilla species should be considered poisonous, as several are known to contain saponins and cardiac glycosides.