''Scilla'' section ''Chionodoxa'', known as glory-of-the-snow, is a small group of
bulb
In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...
ous perennial
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...
Asparagaceae
Asparagaceae, known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, ''Asparagus officinalis''. Those who live in the temperate c ...
, subfamily
Scilloideae
Scilloideae (named after the genus ''Scilla'', "squill") is a subfamily of bulbous plants within the family '' Asparagaceae''. Scilloideae is sometimes treated as a separate family Hyacinthaceae, named after the genus '' Hyacinthus''. Scilloideae ...
. Formerly treated as the separate genus ''Chionodoxa'', they are now included in ''
Scilla
''Scilla'' () is a genus of about 30 to 80 species of bulb-forming perennial herbaceous plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. Sometimes called the squills in English, they are native to woodlands, subalpine meadows, and sea ...
'' as a section.
[ The section is ]endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to the eastern Mediterranean, specifically Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...
, Cyprus and Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. The blue, white or pink flowers appear early in the year making them valuable garden ornamentals. The common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
of the group is based on the habit of flowering in high alpine zone
Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...
s when the snow melts in spring.
Description
Species placed in ''Scilla'' sect. ''Chionodoxa'' are short bulb
In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...
ous plants. Each bulb produces two leaves, narrow at the base and broadening towards the tip. The flowers have tepal
A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...
s that are joined at the base to between 15% and 40% of their total length. The filaments of the stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s are broadened, usually white (rarely blue in the upper part), with the lower part joined to the perianth. The anther
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...
s of the stamens are yellow (rarely blue), with pale yellow pollen. The pistil
Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pistils ...
is hidden behind the stamens.[
File:Scilla forbesii 1.jpg
File:Scilla forbesii - 52024312748.jpg
File:Scilla forbesii - 52024990955.jpg
]
Taxonomy
The taxon was first described as the genus ''Chionodoxa'' by Pierre Edmond Boissier
Pierre Edmond Boissier (25 May 1810 Geneva – 25 September 1885 Valeyres-sous-Rances) was a Swiss prominent botanist, explorer and mathematician.
He was the son of Jacques Boissier (1784-1857) and Caroline Butini (1786-1836), daughter of Pie ...
in 1844.[ ''Chionodoxa'' was distinguished from the genus '']Scilla
''Scilla'' () is a genus of about 30 to 80 species of bulb-forming perennial herbaceous plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. Sometimes called the squills in English, they are native to woodlands, subalpine meadows, and sea ...
'' by two features: the tepal
A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...
s are joined at their bases to form a tube rather than being free; and the stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s have flattened stalks (filaments), which look almost like a cup in the centre of the flower. From the 1970s onwards, Speta in particular argued that perianth
The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ...
features were not informative in the family Hyacinthaceae (here subfamily Scilloideae
Scilloideae (named after the genus ''Scilla'', "squill") is a subfamily of bulbous plants within the family '' Asparagaceae''. Scilloideae is sometimes treated as a separate family Hyacinthaceae, named after the genus '' Hyacinthus''. Scilloideae ...
), and that ''Chionodoxa'' was closely related to ''Scilla bifolia
''Scilla bifolia'', the alpine squill or two-leaf squill, is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from an underground bulb,Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia - Edagricole – 1982 Vol. III, pg. 365 belonging to the genus ''Scilla'' of the family Aspar ...
'', the type species of the genus ''Scilla''. A 1999 phylogenetic
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
study, based on plastid
The plastid (Greek: πλαστός; plastós: formed, molded – plural plastids) is a membrane-bound organelle found in the cells of plants, algae, and some other eukaryotic organisms. They are considered to be intracellular endosymbiotic cyanoba ...
DNA, included some species which have been placed in ''Chionodoxa'' and showed that they were embedded within ''Scilla''. The relevant part of the cladogram is shown below (with recent names); two former ''Chionodoxa'' species are shaded in yellow.[
Submerging ''Chionodoxa'' within ''Scilla'' was resisted for a long time; for example Dashwood and Mathew kept ''Chionodoxa'' separate in 2005. In 2009, Bohumil Trávníček and coauthors proposed treating the genus ''Chionodoxa'' as ''Scilla'' sect. ''Chionodoxa'',][ a proposal adopted by other workers.][
]
Species
The number of species accepted in the group has varied. Several of the species are very similar, and the number of species recognized as distinct has differed significantly from one source to another. For example, plants occurring in Crete have at one time or another been put into three species (then in the genus ''Chionodoxa''): ''C. albescens'', ''C. cretica'' and ''C. nana''. In 1987, Sfikas' ''Wild flowers of Crete'' recognized only two of these (as ''C. cretica'' and ''C. nana''); in 1993, the Natural History Museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleon ...
's checklist of the Cretan Flora recognized only one (''Scilla nana''). In 2005, the Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (N ...
distinguished between ''C. forbesii'' and ''C. siehei'', as did Yildirim et al. in 2017 (now using the genus ''Scilla''). , the ''World Checklist of Selected Plant Families'' sank ''S. siehei'' into ''S. forbesii''.
, the ''World Checklist of Selected Plant Families'' accepted the following species formerly placed in ''Chionodoxa'':[
*'']Scilla cretica
''Scilla cretica'' is a species of flowering plant in the Asparagaceae family. It is referred to by the common name Cretan glory-of-the-snow, and is a bulbous perennial native to Crete, flowering in early spring. It belongs to a group of ''Scill ...
'', syn. ''Chionodoxa cretica'' (Cretan glory-of-the-snow) – Crete
*''Scilla forbesii
''Scilla forbesii'', known as Forbes' glory-of-the-snow, is a bulbous perennial plant from west Turkey flowering in early spring. It is considered synonymous with ''Scilla siehei'', known as Siehe's glory-of-the-snow, by some sources, although ...
'', syns ''Chionodoxa forbesii'' (Forbes' glory-of-the-snow), ''C. siehei'' (Siehe's glory-of-the-snow), ''C. tmoli'', ''C. tmolusii'' – south-west and west Turkey
*''Scilla lochiae
''Scilla lochiae'', known as Loch's glory-of-the-snow, is a bulbous perennial from Cyprus flowering in early spring. After flowering, it goes into dormancy until the next spring. It was named after Lady Loch who collected it. It belongs to a gr ...
'', syns ''Chionodoxa lochiae'' (Loch's glory-of-the-snow), ''C. gigantea'' – Cyprus
*'' Scilla luciliae'', syn. ''Chionodoxa luciliae'' (Lucile's glory-of-the-snow) – west Turkey
*''Scilla nana
''Scilla nana'', known as dwarf glory-of-the-snow, is a bulbous perennial from Crete flowering in early spring with flowers in shades of lilac blue. After flowering, it goes into dormancy until the next spring. It belongs to a group of ''Scilla' ...
'', syns ''Chionodoxa nana'' (dwarf glory-of-the-snow), ''C. albescens'' (pale glory-of-the-snow) – Crete
*'' Scilla sardensis'', syn. ''Chionodoxa sardensis'' (lesser glory-of-the-snow) – west Turkey
Distribution
Assuming there are six species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
, as listed above, three occur in south-west and west Turkey, two in Crete and one in Cyprus. Garden plants have naturalized outside of their native range, e.g. in the UK, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. A natural hybrid ''S. siehei'' x ''S. luciliae'' also occurs.
Cultivation
There has been considerable confusion over the correct names of species grown in gardens, with the most common being called either ''Chionodoxa luciliae'', ''C. forbesii'' or ''C. siehei''. A 2005 Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (N ...
publication which illustrated all three of these species stated that the most common garden species is properly called ''C. siehei''. ''C. siehei'' and ''C. forbesii'' are now regarded by other sources as synonyms of ''S. forbesii''.
Three species were awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
History
The Award of Garden Merit ...
(H4 – hardy outdoors anywhere in the British Isles) in 1993 which was re-confirmed in 2004: ''S. luciliae'', ''S. sardensis'', and ''S. forbesii'' (as ''C. siehei''). (''S. nana'' subsp. ''albescens'' was also given the award subject to availability.)
All can be bought as dry bulb
In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...
s and planted while dormant in late summer or early autumn at a depth of 8–10 cm. They require light when in growth, but can be grown under deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, afte ...
trees or shrubs, as their foliage dies down after flowering. All flower in early Spring, ''S. sardensis'' usually being the earliest. ''S. forbesii'' seeds freely in many gardens, and can create a carpet of blue. In addition to the common purplish-blue varieties, ''S. forbesii'' is sold as pink and white cultivars (possibly under the name ''C. siehei'').
Notes and references
Bibliography
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{{Taxonbar, from1=Q87903803, from2=Q1057740
Plant sections
Chionodoxa