LILY FAMILY 



it is distinctly ill-smelling; in an age of careless grace and law- 

 less beauty, it is stiflE and unyielding. But should the fashion in 

 flowers drift back to stiflE and stately forms, the Crown Imperial, 

 as well as the Camellia, may regain its imperium. 



SCILLA. SIBERIAN SQUILL. 



Scilla sihirica. 



ScUla is the old Greek name meaning, / injure ; referring, it is 

 supposed, to the poisonous bulbs. 



Scillas form a group of early-flowering bulbous plants. One of 

 the best is Scilla sibirica, native to Russia, Siberia, and Asia Minor. 

 March. ' 



Leaves,— Tvio to four, narrow, ascending, four to six inches long. 

 F/oweri.— Deep-blue in the type, borne on one to three-flowered 

 scapes, horizontal or drooping. 



Perianth. — Of six distinct segments. 

 Stamens. — Six with flattened filaments and ob- 

 long anthers. 



Ovary. — Three-lobed; style slender, stigma 

 minute. 



Capsule. — Triangular, three-valved; seeds black. 



Of this group of bright little flowers, Scilla 

 sibirica has become a garden favorite. Its 

 blue stars come early, usually in March, and 

 they are wholly, delightfully, persistently blue. 

 The perianth is about an inch across, pure 

 blue, with a darker line in the middle of each 

 petal; the stamens are blue; the style and. 

 stigma are blue; only the green ovary lies in 

 the centre. It should be planted in mass, for 

 only by numbers can the best effects be pro- 

 duced. A number of species are in cultivation; among the best 

 are bifdlia, which can be had in several colors; amcena, very 

 hardy and robust; v&rna, a native of sea-shores, and autumnalis, 

 blooming in September. 



36 



Scilla. ScUla sibirica 



