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Asparagaceae
Star of Bethlehem
Ornithogalum umbellatum
Hope, purity, spiritual guidance.
- Family
- Asparagaceae
- Genus
- Ornithogalum
- Native to
- Mediterranean, Western Asia
- Bloom season
- Spring
- Type
- Bulbous perennial
- Height
- 15–30 cm (6–12 in)
- Sunlight
- Full sun to part shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low to moderate
- Hardiness
- 4–9
- Lifespan
- Long-lived perennial
Did you know
- Named after the biblical star that guided the Magi to Bethlehem, the white six-petaled flowers form perfect heavenly stars that open only in bright sunlight.
- Long called 'eleven o'clock lady' in England because the flowers refuse to open before midmorning and close again by mid-afternoon.
- It's one of the 38 Bach Flower Remedies—Dr. Edward Bach formulated it specifically for shock and trauma, and it's still widely used by naturopaths today.
- Pollen analysis on the Shroud of Turin reportedly identified Ornithogalum umbellatum—the discovery has been cited by both believers and skeptics ever since.
- Despite its angelic appearance, the bulbs contain cardiac glycosides and are toxic to livestock; in southern Europe they were boiled to leach out poisons and eaten as a famine food.
Color meanings
0
hope
1
purity
2
atonement