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Scilla nana

Scilla nana is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Scilla nana rather than just read about it. In short: Scilla nana, known as dwarf glory-of-the-snow, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant endemic to Crete. It flowers in early spring with flowers in shades of lilac blue.

Scilla nana — main illustration
Scilla nana — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Scilla nana belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Scilla nana to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Scilla nana from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Scilla nana, known as dwarf glory-of-the-snow, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant endemic to Crete. It flowers 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 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 cretica.

Description Like all members of Scilla sect. Chionodoxa, the bases of the stamens of Scilla nana are flattened and closely clustered in the middle of the flower. In other species of Scilla, the stamens are not flattened or clustered together. S. nana (like S. cretica) has two leaves per bulb, and at most one flowering stem, with one to five (more commonly three) flowers in a loose raceme. Individual flowers are up to 2.4 cm diameter with tepals up to 1.1 cm long, most facing upwards, the overall colour effect being some shade of lilac-blue. Sfikas distinguishes between smaller plants with whitish flowers occurring above 1700 m, S. nana, and larger plants with bluer flowers occurring below 1700 m, S. cretica. S. nana subsp. albescens (synonym S. albescens) is recognized by some sources, although not by others. It has slightly smaller flowers (tepals up to 1 cm long), whitish with lavender to violet-blue tips. It was awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit (H4 – hardy outdoors anywhere in the British Isles) in 2004, subject to availability.

Taxonomy Scilla nana was first described in 1829, as Hyacinthus nana, by Josef August Schultes and Julius Hermann Schultes. It was transferred to Chionodoxa in 1854. Chionodoxa was separated from Scilla partly on the basis of the flattened stamen bases. Phylogenetic studies showed that Chionodoxa was nested within Scilla. Former Chionodoxa species may now be treated as Scilla sect. Chionodoxa. Plants occurring in Crete have at one time or another been put into one of three species (in either Scilla or Chionodoxa): S. albescens Speta, S. cretica (Boiss. & Heldr.) Speta and S. nana (Schult. & Schult.f.) Speta. Sfikas' Wild flowers of Crete recognized only two of these (in Chionodoxa as C. cretica and C. nana); the Natural History Museum's checklist of the Cretan Flora recognized only one (S. nana). As of March 2020, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families accepts both S. nana and S. cretica.

Distribution and habitat Scilla nana is endemic to Crete, where it occurs at elevations of 1700–2300 m.

See also List of Scilla species

Notes and references

Bibliography Beckett, Kenneth; Grey-Wilson, Christopher, eds. (1993), Alpine Garden Society Encyclopaedia of Alpines, Vol. 1 (A-K), Pershore, UK: AGS Publications, ISBN 978-0-900048-63-0 Dashwood, Melanie & Mathew, Brian (2005), Hyacinthaceae – little blue bulbs (RHS Plant Trials and Awards, Bulletin Number 11), Royal Horticultural Society, archived from the original on 28 August 2015, retrieved 28 August 2015* Mathew, Brian (1987), The Smaller Bulbs, London: B T Batsford, ISBN 978-0-7134-4922-8 Mathew, Brian (2005), "Hardy Hyacinthaceae, Part 2: Scilla, Chionodoxa, xChionoscilla", The Plantsman, New Series, 4 (2): 110–21 Sfikas, George (1987), Wild Flowers of Crete, Athens: Efstathiadis, ISBN 978-960-226-052-4 Turland, N.J.; Chilton, L.; Press, J.R & Natural History Museum (London) (1993), Flora of the Cretan Area: annotated checklist and atlas, London: HMSO, ISBN 978-0-11-310043-9 Yildirim, H.; Yetisen, K.; Özdemir, A. & Özdemir, C. (2017), "An Anatomical Study of Scilla (Scilloideae) Section Chionodoxa and Scilla bifolia in Turkey" (PDF), Planta Daninha, 35: e017162495, doi:10.1590/s0100-83582017350100004, retrieved 2020-03-16

Illustrations

Scilla nana illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Scilla nana

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Scilla nana claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Scilla nana before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Scilla nana ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Scilla nana

In research
Scilla nana appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Scilla nana in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Scilla nana is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Endemic flora of Crete, Ephemeral plants, Plants described in 1829, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Scilla nana outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Scilla nana in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Scilla nana means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Scilla nana out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Scilla nana in simple terms?

Scilla nana, known as dwarf glory-of-the-snow, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant endemic to Crete. It flowers in early spring with flowers in shades of lilac blue.

Why does Scilla nana matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Scilla nana?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Scilla nana.

Tags

  • Endemic flora of Crete
  • Ephemeral plants
  • Plants described in 1829
  • Scilla

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