Siberian Squill

Description:

Brilliant blue flowering, about 15-20 cm tall field/wood plant. The flowers have six petals and six stamens, and are arranged singly or in racemes of two or three. Petals may be reflexed to the horizontal when sunlight is bright, but are more often cup-shaped. The flowers are usually blue, but those of Scilla siberica var. alba are white. The stamens of Scilla are separate, unlike those of the related genera Puschkinia and Chionodoxa, which are fused into a tube. The pollen is dark blue. After flowering, the flower stems become limp as capsules (pods) mature. At maturity, the capsules become purple and split open, releasing small, dark brown seeds. When the seeds are mature, the leaves wither and the plant goes dormant until the next spring. Seedlings are hollow-leaved.

Habitat:

Siberian squill is native to southwestern Russia, the Caucasus, and Turkey. Despite its name, it is not native to Siberia.