ORNITHOGALUM PYRENAICUM
Common Names:- Bath asparagus, spiked star-of-Bethlehem, Pyrenean star-
of-Bethlehem
Homotypic synonyms:- Beryllis pyrenaica,,Loncomelos pyrenaicum,
Ornithogalum flavescens, Ornithogalum pyrenaicum subsp. flavescens
Ornithogalum pyrenaicum var. Flavescens, Ornithogalum sulphureum var.
Pyrenaicum, Parthenostachys pyrenaica
Meaning:- Ornithogalum (Gr) Bird-milk, a name used by the Greek physician and
botanist Dioscorides for plants yielding bird-lime.
Pyrenaicum (L) "of the Pyrenees", indicating that a plant or organism
is native to or first described from the Pyrenees mountain range between France
and Spain.
General description:- Herbaceous, clump-forming, bulbous perennial geophyte.
Native to Europe, North Africa, and the Mediterranean.
Bulbs:-
1) Ovoid to subglobose, producing a subterranean storage organ that renews annual
growth.
Stems:-
1) Slender, upright flowering shoots that grow up to 50–70 cm tall.
Leaves:-
1) Linear, narrow, channelled, and ligulate to semi-erect. Glaucous or grey-green.
2) Basal, tuft of leaves appears early in the season but frequently withers and dies
back completely by the time the plant reaches full summer anthesis
Flowers:-
1) Elongated, slender, many-flowered raceme, carrying up to 30 to 50 small, star-
shaped flowers.
2) Perianth Segments, 6 distinct tepals, spreading in a flat, star-like shape. Pale
yellowish-white, cream, or greenish-white on the inner face, characterized by a
distinct longitudinal green stripe running down the outer reverse side of each
segment.
3) Androecium;
a) stamens 6 with flattened filaments surrounding the central ovary.
4) Gynoecium;
a) a superior, three-celled ovary style producing a small, angled capsule.
Fruit:-
1) Capsule, small, angled, subglobose.
2) Seeds, globose to angular, relatively large, that restrict natural dispersal range
over long distances.
Toxicity:- Contains toxic cardiac glycosides and alkaloids concentrated mainly in
the bulb, though historically the young shoots were eaten cooked in some regions.
Toxic to cats, dogs, livestock, and humans if ingested in significant quantities.
Touching the bulbs can cause skin irritation or dermatitis in sensitive individuals.
Habitat:- Fertile clay or loamy soils over limestone or gravel bases, growing well in
partial shade or open sunlight, in deciduous woodlands, shaded hedgerows, old
green lanes, and rough grassy road verges. It prefers moist.
Distribution:- Native across the Canary Islands, western and central Europe, the
Mediterranean, and the Caucasus. In Britain, it has a very localized distribution
restricted mostly to southwest and southern England, particularly around Somerset,
Wiltshire, Bristol, and Gloucestershire, with smaller satellite populations extending
toward Berkshire and Bedfordshire
Flowering time:- Late spring to mid-summer (typically May through July
depending on latitude).
Status:- Is classified on the BSBI Online Plant Atlas 2020 as a native species in
Great Britain with a GB Red List status of Least Concern, though it is considered
locally scarce.
Photos by:- Saxifraga - Free nature images