code: 994
Rare in the UK
Family: Asparagaceae
Common name: Prospero autumnale, Autumn-flowering squill, Starry hyacinth, Winter hyacinth
Plant Classification: Hardy perennial
Minimum Height: 25 cm
Maximum Height: 30 cm
Packet Content(approx.): 12
Dense racemes of purple-blue flowers appear very suddenly in late summer and early autumn, before the linear leaves. One day it is summer, and the next day they are there! Rare in the UK, it is now restricted to Cornwall, parts of Devon and the Channel Islands.
Sowing advice:
Sow seeds at any time covering them with compost or grit 5mm deep, keeping the seed pot in a cool, well-lit spot outdoors. Artificial heat is not needed and can prevent germination so be very patient as many species will only germinate in the spring after chilling or freezing in the moist seed tray in the winter. Grow on individual seedlings in small pots until of sufficient size to be potted on or planted out into the open ground.
Ecology
A bulbous perennial herb of open, drought-prone grasslands and heathy vegetation in rocky or sandy places near the sea; also on terrace gravels in the lower Thames valley. Lowland.
Status
Native
Trends
There were some losses of this species before 1930, but there is little evidence of significant change in distribution or abundance since the 1962 Atlas. S. autumnalis is tetraploid almost throughout its British range, the exception being on the S. coast of Cornwall and on Guernsey where a hexaploid race occurs.
World Distribution
Mediterranean-Atlantic element.
