SQUILL 



HABITS OF PLANT. Grows in sandy places near the coast. The plant 

 flowers in autumn, the leaves appear in the following spring. Bulb 

 only half immersed in the soil. 



HABITAT. Mediterranean shores, in dry, sandy places near the coast. 



DESCRIPTION OF DRUG. Squill comes into the market in narrow horny 

 segments about 50 mm. (a^in.) long, often more or less contorted; 



FIG. 35. Urginea scilla. 



color varying from white or yellowish-white to a reddish tint, slightly 

 translucent; when dry, it is brittle and pulverizable, but by exposure 

 to a moist atmosphere it becomes flexible. Occasionally vertical 

 slices, sometimes adhering at the base, are met with. Odor slight; 

 taste mucilaginous, bitter, nauseous, and acrid. 



The fresh bulb is inversely pear-shaped, fleshy, varying in size 

 from that of a man's fist to a child's head. There are two kinds, 



