Species of
Scilla have been known since
classical antiquity, being described by both Greek (
Theophrastus [371–287 BC] and
Discorides [40–90 AD]) and Roman (
Pliny [23–79 AD]) writers. Theophrastus described
Scilla hyacinthoides (
skilla), and more briefly
S. autumnalis and
S. bifolia in his
Historia plantarum, where he mentions "those of squill" (;
skilles). In classical literature,
Scilla was known for its medicinal properties. Later mentions include pre-Linnaen botanists such as
Fuchs (1542) and
Clusius (1601), who considered many closely related plants to be types of
Hyacinthus. ,
Denmark The genus
Scilla has
a long and complicated history in terms of its classification,
circumscription and subdivision, and is not fully resolved. The
genus Scilla was first formally described by
Linnaeus in 1753, and hence bears his name as the
botanical authority,
Scilla L.. In
Scilla, he included six plants previously considered as
Hyacinthus. For instance, he renamed Clusius'
Hyacinthus stellatus cinerei coloris as
Scilla italica (
Hyacinthoides italica in modern systems) and
Hyacinthus stellatus peruanus as
Scilla peruviana, while Fuchs'
Hyacinthus caeruleus mas minor, he named
Scilla bifolia.
)Fuchs De historia'' 1543|alt=Illustration of a "Hyacinth" by Leonhart Fuchs 1n 1543, renamed Scilla bifolia by Linnaeus in 1753 In total, Linnaeus listed eight species of
Scilla, from the Mediterranean, Europe and southwest Asia, and placed the genus in the grouping
Hexandria Monogynia (6
stamens, 1
pistil) within his
system of sexual classification (
systema sexuale). Since he listed
S. maritima (which had previously been known as scilla officinale) first, this was considered the
type species. On the basis that the seed
morphology distinguished this species from all the other Linnean
Scilla, Steinheil reclassified it as a member of a novel genus,
Urginea, now submerged in
Drimia as
Drimia maritima. Later,
De Jussieu (1789), using a
natural system, the relative value of plant characteristics, rather than purely sexual ones, and a hierarchical system of ranks, grouped
Scilla into a "family" which he called
Asphodeli, along with
Hyacinthus and
Allium. Jaume-Saint-Hilaire (1805), while maintaining the same affiliation, recognized three species
S. maritima,
S. amoena and
S. italica. By 1853,
Lindley had created a very large order, the
Liliaceae, in which Scilla and related genera formed one of eleven suborders, as Scilleae. This included many genera, including
Camassia and
Ornithogalum. Treatments of Scilla in the nineteenth century include those of
Dumortier (1827),
Salisbury (1796, 1866) and
Baker (1873), with rather different approaches. Historically,
Scilla and related genera were placed with
lily-like plants in the
order Liliales, for instance as the
tribe Hyacintheae of the
family Liliaceae. The availability of
molecular phylogenetic methods in
taxonomic classification led to major realignments of several related
monocot orders, particularly with the adoption of the
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system. Significantly,
hyacinth-like plants including
Scilla were initially placed in a separate family, the Hyacinthaceae in the order
Asparagales, specifically in the very large
subfamily Hyacinthoideae. Since 2009, the Hyacintheae, including
Scilla, have been considered as
Scilloideae, a subfamily of the family
Asparagaceae. There they are placed as one of about 21 genera in the subtribe Hyacinthinae within tribe Hyacintheae. The most closely related genera to
Scilla were
Muscari Mill. and
Chionodoxa Boiss.
Subdivision For some time,
Chionodoxa had been considered a possible
synonym to
Scilla bifolia L. and molecular methods failed to support the existence of a separate genus, but rather its specimens appeared intermixed with those of
Scilla. Although there are distinguishing
morphological features (e.g. fused
tepal bases and broadened
filaments), these were considered
paraphyletic, having arisen in several lines within the Hyacinthaceae. Furthermore, it was observed that
Chionodoxa was capable of
hybridization with
Scilla bifolia. It was therefore proposed that
Chionodoxa be considered an obsolete genus and be submerged within
Scilla. Subsequently, it was proposed that the species of Scilla be split into two
sections, Chionodoxa that would include those
taxa previously considered to belong in the genus
Chionodoxa, and
Scilla which would contain the remainder.
Species The precise number of
Scilla species in the genus depends on which proposals to split the genus are accepted. In addition to creating two sections, some authorities have split the genus into a number of smaller genera. For instance, particularly the Eurasian species have been moved to genera such as
Othocallis Salisb., so that
Scilla siberica would become
Othocallis siberica, leaving a much smaller genus referred to as
Scilla s.s. or
Scilla sensu Speta, with about 30 species. However, this has not been generally accepted, leaving a much larger
Scilla s.l. of about 80 species. Although the
Flora of North America mentions (but does not list) 50 species,
World Flora Online lists 83 species, as of May 2022. Speta's scheme (1998) created 8 separate genera, but many of these are very narrowly defined being either
monotypic (single species) or oligotypic (very few species).
Etymology Both the scientific genus name
Scilla and the common word
squill derive, via Middle English and French, from the Latin
scilla and Greek
skilla words for the plants. The common name squill has been applied to a number of other similar taxa such as
Drimia. == Distribution and habitat ==