(Ornithogalum umbellatum) Lily family
Flowers - Opening in the sunshine, white within, greenish on the
outside, veined, borne on slender pedicels in an erect, loose
cluster. Perianth of 6 narrowly oblong divisions, 1/2 in. long or
over, or about twice as long as
the flattened stamens; style
short, 3-sided. Scape: Slender, 4 to 12 in. high, with narrow,
blade-like bracts above. Leaves: Narrow, grass-like with white
midvein, fleshy, all from coated, egg-shaped bulb.
Preferred Habitat - Moist, grassy meadows, old lawns. Flowering
Season - May-June.
Distribution - Escaped from gardens from Massachusetts to
Virginia.
The finding of these exquisite little flowers, growing wild among
the lush grass of a meadow not far from some old homestead where
their ancestors, with crocuses and grape hyacinths, once
brightened the lawn in early spring, makes one long to start a
Parkinson Society instantly. Some school children not far from
New York, receiving their inspiration from Mrs. Ewing's little
book, "Mary's Meadow," have spread the gospel of beauty, like the
true missionaries they are, by systematically planting in lanes
and fields sweet violets, golden coreopsis, hardy poppies, blue
corn-flowers, Japanese roses, orange day-lilies, larkspurs, and
many other charming garden flowers that need only the slightest
encouragement to run wild. Immense quantities of seed, that go to
loss in every garden, might so easily be sprinkled at large on
our walks. Nearly all the beautiful hardy perennials cultivated
here grow in Nature's garden in Europe or Asia, and will do so in
America if they are but given the chance. The Star of Bethlehem
is a case in point. Several members of the large group of
charming spring flowers to which it belongs grow in such
abundance in the Old World that for centuries the bulbs have
furnished food to the omnivorous Italian and Asiatic peasants. If
we cannot spare offsets from the garden, and will wait a few
years for seeds to bear, the rich, light loam of our grassy
meadows, too, will be streaked with a Milky Way of floral stars,
as they are in Italy.
The Greek generic name of the Star of Bethlehem, meaning "bird's
milk" (a popular folk expression in Europe for some marvellous
thing) was applied by Linnaeus because of the flower's likeness
to the wonderful star in the East which guided the Wise Men to
the manger where Jesus lay.
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Next: STARGRASS COLICROOT
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