Bulb-forming perennial plant of the genus
Scilla, family Liliaceae, found growing in
dry places near the sea in W Europe.
Cultivated species usually bear blue flowers
either singly or in clusters at the top of
the stem. The Spring squill Scilla verna has
narrow grasslike leaves, sometimes curled;
violet-blue six-petalled flowers appear in
early summer, two to 12 on a dense spike. The
autumn squill Scilla autumnalis is somewhat
similar, but flowers in autumn before the
emergence of leaves.