Scilla peruviana (Portuguese squill)

Scilla peruviana (Portuguese squill) is a bulb-bearing herbaceous perennial plant that is Native to the Western Mediterranean. The above image was taken along the Mediterranean steps but it can be found in abundance throughout the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.

Despite ‘peruviana’, meaning "from Peru", in its epithet this species of Scilla has nothing to do with the South American country. Its confusing binomial was given by Carolus Linnaeus in 1753, based on misunderstandings passed on to him from Carolus Clusius– a highly influential and reputable botanist (1).

The flower is arranged in what is known as a "Corymb"– a flower cluster whose lower stalks are proportionally longer so that the flowers form a flat or slightly convex head; as each old flower wilts, new flowers emerge from the center. As you can see in the image, the leaves are linear and somewhat succulent and waxy/shiny.

1. Sims, J., ed. (1804). "Scilla peruviana". Curtis's Botanical Magazine. 20: 749

Also See: https://floraofgibraltar.myspecies.info/monocots/scilla-peruviana-l