Thursday, April 7, 2011

Urginea maritima
The plant Urginea maritima (syn. Scilla maritima, Urginea scilla, Drimia maritima or Urginea pancration) has the common names red squill, sea squill, sea onion, ein sit, and ada sogani. The name red squill may be reserved for a variety of the plant which has red-tinted flowers instead of the more common white. It may be placed in family Hyacinthaceae with squills of genus Scilla or included in family Liliaceae, depending on which classification system is used.
Uses
It has been used for medicinal purposes. The bulb contains cardiac glycosides which stimulate the heart and act as diuretics in moderate doses, and are emetic and poisonous in larger doses. The juice of the bulb causes blisters when put in contact with skin. The plant has been used as a rodenticide and may show promise as an insecticide. The most active compounds in the plant are scillirosides, especially proscillaridine A. In the past, it has also been used as an abortifacient. This particular use is rarely seen today as it has been shown to be dangerous and largely ineffective.

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