Scilla siberica

Siberian squill

Habitus (CC BY-SA 3.0) Ulrich Prokop

Short Description

Siberian squill star is a small plant.

It has two to four elongated leaves. The leaves grow at the base of the plant.

The stem grows upright.

One to five nodding, usually somewhat bell-shaped flowers with six petals hang from the stem. They are blue and have a darker central stripe.

The plant develops a trifoliate capsule fruit. The seeds have an oil corpuscle.

Features

Siberian squill

Scilla siberica
  • poisonous

  • blue bell-shaped flowers

  • linear leaves

Similar species

Scilla bifolia
The flowers are upright.
Blüten (CC BY-SA 3.0) Halava

In the city

It grows on park lawns and occasionally runs wild in shrubbery near parks or in allotments. It prefers fresh, nutrient-rich soils in somewhat shaded locations.

Fun Facts

  • The flowering period is from March to April.

  • It is a popular early flowering ornamental plant in parks and gardens in Europe.

  • The name is misleading. It does not occur in today's Siberia.

  • It lives for several years and generally flowers and fruits annually (perennial plant).

  • Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
  • It originates from central and southern Russia and the Near East and is a neophyte, i.e. non-native, in Europe.

  • All parts of the plant are poisonous.

Habitus (CC BY-SA 3.0) Dominicus Johannes Bergsma

Sources

Habitus, Ulrich Prokop, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sibirischer_Blaustern.jpg

Blüten, Halava, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scilla_siberica_Oulu_01.jpg

Habitus, Dominicus Johannes Bergsma, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scilla_siberica..JPG

Spohn, M., Golte-Bechtle, M. & Spohn, R. (2015) Was blüht denn da? Stuttgart: Franckh Kosmos Verlag.

Seitz, B., Ristow, M., Meißner, J., Machatzi, B. & Sukopp, H. (2018) Rote Liste und Gesamtartenliste der etablierten Farn- und Blütenpflanzen von Berlin. : Der Landesbeauftragte für Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege / Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Klima und Verkehr (eds.) Rote Listen der gefährdeten Pflanzen, Pilze und Tiere von Berlin, URL: https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/natur-und-gruen/naturschutz/artenschutz/artenlisten-rote-listen/farn-und-bluetenpflanzen/ (Accessed: 26.03.2021).

Page „Sibirischer Blaustern“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 26.09.2016, 10:34 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sibirischer_Blaustern&oldid=158230426 (Accessed: 03.09.2018).

Page „Blausterne“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 16.06.2018, 13:15 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blausterne&oldid=178369146 (Accessed: 03.09.2018).

Bundesamt für Naturschutz (n.d.) Artensteckbriefe, URL: http://floraweb.de/pflanzenarten/artenhome.xsql?suchnr=5373& (Accessed: 03.09.2018).