Star of Bethlehem, or Ornithogalum umbellatum

There is a showing of Star of Bethlehem at their peak in a naturalized setting near the Lalor Street gate in Section M and the beauty of these delicately small flowers deserve mention as does their history.

Naturalized Ornithogalum umbellatum in Section M

First described by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, the pioneering work published in 1753, the plant was one of but 12 species known at the time. Over the years other botanists including Michel Adanson, John Gilbert Baker, George Bentham, Adolf Engler, and Joseph Dalton Hooker came to identify and describe some 300 species within what is today the genus Ornithogalum.

It is commonly known as the Star of Bethlehem, after the biblical account of the birth of Jesus, and less commonly the Grass Lily. A lithograph of Ornithogalum umbellatum was drawn by Jacob Sturm and appeared in Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen by Johann Georg Sturm which was published in 1796.

Lithograph of O. umbellatum that appeared
in Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungun in 1796

The bulbous perennial is native throughout most of central and southern Europe, northwestern Africa, and southwestern Asia. In North America it has escaped its cultivation and is rather widespread particularly in a naturalized setting. Its narrow, semi-erect, grass-like leaves are about 12 inches long and begin to droop as the flower stems reach about six inches in height. The white flowers, which are green-striped on the outside, open around noon and close at sunset. They each have six petals and are about one inch wide.

Be sure to take note and enjoy them on your spring stroll through the grounds!