Yellow Star-of-Bethlehems
What are they?
Members of the genus Gagea are a rather complex group of species that can be difficult to tell apart in the mountainous regions of Europe. However, in one sense, we are lucky in East Anglia in only having a single species present - though we always have to be wary of garden escapes! These plants are members of the lily family (Liliaceae) and are therefore not closely related to the white-flowered star-of-Bethlehems in the genus Ornithogalum.
Where are they found?
Our single species favours shady places in open woodland but is also sometimes found in churchyards or cemeteries where it has been planted.
Identification
As with many members of the lily family, the three sepals and three petals all look very similar and are collectively known as tepals. A useful feature of Gagea species is the green stripe on the back, or underside, of the yellow tetals. If you find a plant that has obvious hairs on the leaves or stems, or that has shorter and more compact flower spikes and which is growing somewhere that it may have been planted, then you may have a different species to the one covered here.
Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem Gagea lutea
Possibly native in one wood in West Norfolk but likely to be surviving from original introductions at the three sites from which it is known to occur on East Suffolk. Flowers late March to early May. Flowers yellow, green on the underside of the tepals. Plants typically have a single, grass-like, basal leaf and two stem leaves. The flowers appear in a small cluster at the top of the stem, each flower with a rather long stalk.
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