The sea squill has medicinal properties and was used in antiquity to treat jaundice, convulsions and asthma, although it was also used to kill rats.The sea squill has medicinal properties and was used in antiquity to treat jaundice, convulsions and asthma, although it was also used to kill rats.

The sea squill, għansar in Maltese, is a perennial plant that flowers at the end of summer when few if any other plants are in bloom.

This species of squill is found in all countries of the Mediterranean and despite its name, it is not restricted to maritime areas. The plant grows from a large bulb often in rocky areas and those with little soil including abandoned fields. In areas with very shallow soil the bulb grows partly above soil level where it can easily be found and eaten by animals, especially rodents. It manages to avoid being eaten by having a very bitter taste. Most animals leave it alone but rats eat it and then succumb to a poison that kills only rats.

This particular property has been known for thousands of years. In ancient times the bulb was cut into small pieces and mixed with food which helped to control rats.

The sea squill also has medicinal properties and was used in antiquity to treat jaundice, convulsions and asthma.

By flowering at the end of summer, the sea squill reduces competition with other flowering plants and manages to attract more pollinating insects to it, which in most areas are the only flowers available to insects. Its most important pollinators are the honey bee, the oriental hornet and the paper wasps.

Flowering at the end of summer is difficult but the sea squill has evolved an ingenious way to solve the problem. As the plant grows from a large bulb it has available a store of nutrients and water. In early spring it produces leaves. These are like solar panels. They absorb light energy which drives a chemical reaction, known as photosynthesis. This drives a chemical reaction that combines water and carbon dioxide together with minerals absorbed from the soil through the roots to produce organic matter.

In early summer, when the soil has dried up completely, the leaves shrivel and die. The plant survives this difficult period as an underground bulb. At the end of summer some of the plant uses some of the stored food in the bulb to produce flowers and seeds.

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