he Squill, in botany, a genus of the hexandra monogygia clas. The corolla consists of six open, deciduous petals; and the filaments resemble threads. There are eight species, two of them natives of Britain, viz. the bifolia, or vernal star-hyacinth; and the autumnalis, or lesser autumnal star-hyacinth.

The middle part of the root of the scilla maritima, a native of Spain, is only used in medicine: the apothecaries cut the root perpendicularly in two; and separating the heart and the outer parts, they expose the others to dry. This root is extremely acrid, attenuant, and diffusive: it is apt to prove emetic in whatever form it is given; but this may be prevented, by adding a few grains of cinnamon to it: it then becomes a powerful medicine in all obstructions of the viscera; it promotes urine and the menes, and cuts the tough phlegm which almost chokes in asthma and many other disorders of the breast.