Squill summer

Every year in late August the squill shoots up its tall flowering stem as high as 1.5 meters and in September dozens of small flowers open.

By ITSIK MAROM
Squill flowers 521 (photo credit: ITSIK MAROM)
Squill flowers 521
(photo credit: ITSIK MAROM)
Even if it looks and feels like we’re in the middle of summer, with the heat and humidity still torturing us and the sun still shining brightly, the end of summer is drawing near. Evidence can be seen in the pale soil almost all over the country: the squill (Maritime squill) is busy growing its stemmed flowers.
The squill is a geophyte. Botanically this means that it develops from a bulb underground. This bulb is the largest of all Israeli geophytes – it can reach 20 cm. in diameter and weigh up to a kilogram. It sends long, strong roots digging down three to four meters deep, which makes the squill almost impossible to uproot.
Every year in late August, it shoots up its tall flowering stem as high as 1.5 meters. In September, dozens of small white flowers open in sections, from the bottom of the stem to the top, and each section stays open for 24 hours. The next day, the flowers in the next segment will open.
Every stem can carry up to 250 beautiful flowers. In late October the stem goes dry and the bulb raises a cluster of green leaves that lie flat on the ground.
Since these leaves are by then the only green vegetation on the dry, dusty ground, the squill must protect them from herbivores such as the wild boar and porcupine that may even dig to find the bulbs.
This protection is achieved with the help of poison, a chemical weapon used by many plants throughout the world. One type of poison used by the squill is cardiac glycoside, and another comes in the form of sharp calcium needles in the plants’ organs. These needles will hurt the digestive system of any hungry animal that tries to bite parts of the squill.
Due to these tough qualities the squill traditionally was chosen to mark land, plots, borders and cemeteries. It became very common in our area and in the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. In Israel, squill appears almost everywhere and the best time to enjoy it is during the peak of its flowering stage, which happens close to Rosh Hashana.