Common Star-of-Bethlehem
Ornithogalum umbellatum
34.4535, -83.6034
Field Notes
Description:
The Star-of-Bethlehem is a surprisingly aggressive little plant with attractive flowers. This plant is perennial with bulbs below ground; the bulb is 15-25 mm long and 18-32 mm diameter. It has six to ten leaves, linear with a white line on the upper surface, up to 30 cm long and 8 mm broad, and a scape of 10-30 cm. The flowers group in a corymbose raceme with 6-20 flowers, and are white with a green stripe outside
Habitat:
Native throughout most of southern and central Europe (north to Austria and Belgium), and in northwestern Africa and southwestern Asia.[1] In North America, it has escaped its cultivation as a garden ornamental and can be found in many areas. Star-of-Bethlehem is a bulbous plant. It grows well in deciduous woods and grasslands, as long as the vegetation is not too thick and the soil is rich in nutrients, damp but not too wet.
It has been reported to be invasive in the mid-Atlantic, Northeast and elsewhere
Notes:
Spotted growing in an old house site near a cemetery in Alto, GA
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