3116 



SCIADOPITYS 



SCILLA 



pyramidal habit, with linear, rather large, needle-like 

 dark green and lustrous leaves in whorls and oval cones 

 3 to 4 inches long. It is hardy as far north as Portland, 

 Maine, and is of rather slow growth. It thrives well in a 

 moderately and constantly moist, loamy, and also in 

 clayey soil; in dry soil or in soil which periodically 

 becomes dry, it grows poorly. Propagation is by seeds 

 and layers, and sparingly by cuttings of half-ripened 

 wood in summer; but seedlings are to be preferred, as 

 they grow more symmetrically and more vigorously. 



verticillata, Sieb. & Zucc. UMBRELLA PINE. Figs. 3573, 

 3574. Tree, attaining 100 ft., with ascending branches 

 forming a narrow pyramidal compact head, in old age 

 loose and with pendulous branches: scale-like Ivs. dark 

 brown, Kin. long: needles 15-35 in each whorl, linear, 

 stiff, obtuse, and emarginate, deeply furrowed on both 

 sides, dark green and glossy above, with a white line 

 beneath, 3-6 in. long: cone 3-5 in. long, ovate-oblong; 

 seed Kin. long; cotyledons 2. Japan. B.M. 8050. 

 S.Z. 2:101, 102. F.S. 14:1485, 1486. Gt. 32, p. 149; 

 37, p. 437. Mn. 4, p. 154. Gng. 1:25. Gn. 28, pp. 204, 

 205; 38, p. 499; 71, p. 176; 76, p. 144. G.M. 45:97; 

 47:272. Gn.W. 11:297. F.E. 21:172, pi. 115. M.D.G. 



1906:557. R.H. 1884, pp. 

 16, 17. There is a dwarf 

 variety and a form with 

 variegated foliage, both 

 intro. from Japan. 



ALFRED REHDER. 



SCILLA (the old Greek 

 name used by Hippo- 

 crates: / injure, according 

 to Miller, alluding to the 



Eoisonous bulbs) . Lilidcese. 

 QUILL. WILD HYACINTH. 

 BLUEBELL. Perennial 

 bulbous plants remark- 

 able for easy 

 culture, quick 

 growth and 

 . 'V,, beautiful blue, 

 rose, or white 

 flowers, bloom- 

 ing early in the 

 >-.^."4.- spring (some in 

 autumn), and 

 ( therefore desir- 

 able plants for 

 the wild-garden, 

 rock-garden, or 

 border; they are 

 very useful in 



pots for midwinter flowers, for window-boxes and for 

 room-decoration; some are stove plants; some of the 

 South African forms have handsome spotted foliage. 



Bulb tunicated, large or small : Ivs. radical, 1 to several 

 in number, linear, loriform, lanceolate, oblong or nearly 

 ovate, in Scilla autumnalis appearing after the fls.: 

 scape 1 to several, simple, leafless: fls. in racemes, which 

 are several- to many-fld., open, compact or spicate; 

 bracts small, sometimes minute, hyaline : pedicels short 

 or long, sometimes filiform: fls. small or middle-sized 

 (1 in. across), segms. of perianth distinct, perianth blue, 

 porcelain-blue, rose-colored or whitish, open-rotate, 

 cylindric-campanulate, or open - campanulate, segms. 

 persistent for some time; stamens 6, affixed at base or 

 below the middle of the segms. ; anthers ovate or oblong, 

 dehiscing longitudinally, introrse; ovary sessile, stigma 

 small, capitate; ovules 2 in each Iqcule, rarely 8-10, 

 ascending: caps, globose; seeds 1-2 in each cell, rarely 

 more; testa black, appressed; embryo small in albumen. 

 About 80 species, widely distributed in Eu., Asia, and 

 Afr. in temperate districts. The genus is distinguished 

 from Ornithogalum chiefly by the color of the fls. and 

 deciduous perianth, from Hyacinthus by the segms. 



3574. Umbrella pine. Sciadopitys 

 verticillata. 



distinct from the base or very nearly so. Great Britain 

 possesses 3 species of Scilla, S. verna, S. autumnalis, 

 and S. nonscripta, while Germany has, in addition to 

 S. autumnalis, 3 others, viz., S. amoena, S. bifolia, and 

 S. italica. For S. Fraseri, see Camassia. 



Among the early flowers there is none more valuable 

 than the scillas. They vary considerably in form of 

 flower and foliage, and although typically they have 

 blue or blue-purple flowers, most, if not all, of the spe- 

 cies in cultivation have white and red-purple forms. 

 S. sibirica and S. bifolia are the earliest to flower, and 

 of these forms the Asia Minor or Taurian kinds are in 

 advance. The form of S. sibirica known as multiflora is 

 nearly past before the usual type begins to expand. 

 There is also sometimes cultivated in the garden a 

 pleasing white scilla, with hyacinth-like flowers, known 

 to the trade as S. amoena. But these white forms are 

 mostly oddities; the effective ones are the blue-flower- 

 ing kinds. Occasional hybrids between scillas and 

 chionodoxas are met with (see page 749). Chionosdlla 

 Alleni is the accepted name for a natural hybrid 

 between Chionodoxa Lucilias and Scilla bifolia, first 

 obtained by Mr. Allen, of England, in 1891. 



None of the hardy squills requires special culture, and 

 if planted where they can remain undisturbed for a 

 series of years, they seldom disappoint one if the soil is 

 occasionally enriched by top-dressings of manure. The 

 writer has grown them distributed in the grass of the 

 lawn for a number of years with considerable success. 

 The bulbs should be planted as early as possible in 

 autumn. The varieties may be increased by offsets 

 taken after the foliage has matured. For the cool green- 

 house or conservatory, many of the scillas are ideal sub- 

 jects. For this culture, five or six bulbs may be put in 

 a 5-inch pot and the vessel afterward transferred to a 

 coldframe and covered until growth commences. Up 

 to this period very little water will be required, but as the 

 flower-cluster appears the quantity should be increased 

 and the pots transferred to the greenhouse, giving them 

 a position near the glass. The foliage matured, the 

 bulbs may be shaken out of the soil and stored. More 

 attention should be paid to the propagation of the 

 scillas by commercial dealers, for these bulbs should 

 become one of the features of the wild-garden in early 

 spring. 



The Urginea Scilla, sometimes called Scilla maritima, 

 needs to be mentioned in this connection on account of 

 its yielding a medicine for many centuries held in 

 esteem. Almost everyone is familiar with sirup of 

 squills, and has obtained relief from its use in severe 

 colds. The scales of the bulb contain mucilage, sinis- 

 trin, sugar, and crystals of calcium oxalate (stated by 

 botanists to ward off snails); the active principles are 

 scillipicrin, scillitpxin, and scillin (the latter producing 

 numbness, vomiting, and the like). Scilla bulbs or roots 

 should never be used unless under proper direction, as 

 in their fresh state they are extremely acrid, and might 

 prove dangerous. 



The trade names are considerably confused. Many of 

 the so-called horticultural species and races may be 

 united as mere varieties of species that have been 

 defined botanically. The following names are thought 

 to include all those in the American trade, but other 

 species are known to fanciers. 



