''Scilla cretica'' is a species of

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 ...

in the

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 ...

family. It is referred to by the common name Cretan glory-of-the-snow, and is a

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 A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

native to

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, Cyprus, and ...

, flowering in early spring. It belongs to a group of ''

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 ...

'' species that were formerly put in a separate genus, ''Chionodoxa'', and may now be treated as ''Scilla'' sect. ''Chionodoxa''. It has not always been recognized as distinct from ''

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'' ...

''.

Description

Like all members of the former genus ''Chionodoxa'', the bases 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 flattened and closely clustered in the middle of the flower. In other species of ''Scilla'', the stamens are not flattened or clustered together.

Taxonomy

The number of related species recognized as occurring in Crete has varied. In 1987, Sfikas' ''Wild flowers of Crete'' recognized two (then placed in ''Chionodoxa''), ''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 collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

's checklist of the Cretan Flora recognized only ''Scilla nana''. , the ''World Checklist of Selected Plant Families'' accepted both ''S. cretica'' and ''S. nana''. Sfikas regards ''S. cretica'' as being larger, with bluer flowers, occurring below 1700 m and ''S. nana'' as smaller, with whitish flowers, occurring above 1700 m.

Distribution and habitat

''Scilla cretica'' is native to

where it is found at elevations of 1300–1700 m.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * cretica Flora of Crete Taxa named by Pierre Edmond Boissier Taxa named by Theodor von Heldreich Taxa named by Franz Speta