squill

squill

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squill

1. See sea squill

2. the bulb of the sea squill, formerly used medicinally as an expectorant after being sliced and dried

3. any Old World liliaceous plant of the genus Scilla, such as S. verna (spring squill) of Europe, having small blue or purple flowers

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Squill

 

(Urginea maritima), also sea onion, a perennial herbaceous plant of the family Liliaceae. It has a large bulb, weighing 3 kg or greater. The inflorescence is a many-flowered raceme on a long peduncle, or scape, which measures 50-150 cm. Squill grows wild in Mediterranean countries. The bulbs contain glycosides (for example, scillaren A), saponins, and other substances. Preparations from squill stimulate the cardiovascular system and urination. A powder prepared from the bulbs was formerly used in treating heart failure; in modern medicine it is rarely used. The bulbs and preparations from the red variety of squill are effective in rodent control.

REFERENCE

Atlas lekarstvennykh rastenii SSSR. Moscow, 1962.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.