Ledebouria socialis
Plant Family
Asparagaceae (Previously listed in the Liliaceae or Hyacinthaceae families).
Binomial Name
Ledebouria socialis (Baker) Jessop
Alternate Binomial Names
Scilla socialis Baker, Scilla violacea Hutch.
Common (Vernacular) Names
Wood hyacinth, silver squill, violet squill, leopard lily, bluebell, South African scilla.
Plant Characteristics
Endemicity. From the arid savanna areas with summer rainfall in the Eastern Cape Province and Kwa-Zulu-Natal, South Africa.
Growth Habit. An evergreen, bulbous perennial plant. The bulbs are epigeal (usually located entirely above the soil level) and grow in thick clusters. The fleshy, lance-shaped, strap-like leaves are olive green with dark blotches on the top and the undersides are a dark violet. The plant may reach a height of 6-10 inches. In our area plants grown in shade are much taller than those grown in full sun as shown in the reference photo below.
Flowers. Dense clusters of very small, bell-shaped green to purple-pink flowers on short flower stalks may be produced in the spring or summer. Plants grown in our area seldom bloom.
 Clump of Ledebouria socialis |
Conservation Status
This species does not appear to be threatened or endangered.
CITES Listing: Ledebouria socialis was not found on CITES Appendices I, II or III (CITES 2018).
IUCN Listing: No assessment of this species has been reported on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ (IUCN 2018).
U.S. Endangered Species Act Listing Status: Not listed (FWS 2018).
Uses
Ornamental. This plant requires minimal care An ideal plant for growing in small spaces like on window sills. It may also be grown outdoors in frost free areas as a drought tolerant potted plant or groundcover for xeriscaping.
Traditional Medicinal Uses. Other Ledebouria species have reportedly been used for medicinal purposes in pregnancy, and as treatments for flue, diarrhea, skin irritations, wounds and lumbago. Others consider the plants to be poisonous (Long 2005).
Caution: All parts of this plant may be toxic.
Cultivation
This plant is widely grown around the world as an indoor plant and probably is the most popular bulb with succulent collectors.
Cultivation in Hawaii. The plant can be grown in rapidly draining volcanic soils with high cinder content but it benefits from the addition of some additional organic matter.
Propagation
Seeds. This plant is rarely grown from seeds.
Bulbs: Easily propagated by removal of bulbs from a larger clump of bulbs. Plant the bulbs above ground in well draining soil. Reportedly grows best in confined spaces.
Improved Cultivars
Named cultivars have been developed (PBS 2018).
Pests and Diseases
We have not observed significant problems with pests or diseases in growing this plant outdoors in our area. Snails and slugs do not attack it.
Invasiveness Potential
This plant is in wide cultivation and should be considered previously introduced in Hawaiʻi. No weed risk assessment information was found on the HPWRA assessment database (HPWRA 2018). We have observed clumps of this plant growing on a vacant lot in Discovery Harbour, Hawaiʻi. where it was discarded. It forms dense clumps that could exclude other vegetation where it is growing but appeared to be spreading slowly under other alien vegetation.
It has been listed as an introduced species in the Galapagos (CDF 2018). No other reports of invasiveness were found.
Plants and Seeds for Sale
Availability
Seeds. Seeds are not available.
Nursery Stock. We offer non-certified, Hawaiian grown bulbs of this species for sale from our Online Store.
Improved Cultivars. We do not offer improved cultivars of this species.
Shipping Information
The bulbs are small and easy to ship. Our non-certified bulbs cannot be shipped to the states of AZ, CA, LA or TX. We are not aware of any specific regulations applicable to this plant.
References
CDF (Charles Darwin Foundation). 2018. Plant species introduced to Galapagos. http://www.hear.org/galapagos/invasives/topics/management/plants/projects/species.htm [accessed 12 October 2018].
CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Appendices I, II, and III valid from 4 October 2017. https://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php [accessed 12 October 2018].
FWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). 2018. Endangered Species Home. Search Endangered Species Database. https://www.fws.gov/endangered/ [accessed 12 October 2018].
Global Invasive Species Database (2018). Searched on http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/search.php on 12 October 2018.
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). 2018. Version 2018-1. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. http://www.iucnredlist.org/search [accessed 12 October 2018].
Long, C. (compiler) 2005. Swaziland ‘s Flora – Swati Names and uses. http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/clusagelist.asp?uid=2&pg=29 [accessed 12 October 2018].
PBS (Pacific Bulb Society) 2018. Ledebouria socialis. https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Ledebouria_socialis [accessed 12 October 2018]
Page last updated 12 October 2018