Star of Bethlehem

Star of Bethlehem- weed or garden flower?

Star of Bethlehem, Ornithogalum umbellatum, is not a native plant.  It is an escapee from gardens and is sometimes still sold in bulb catalogs.  It is however, a pesky weed in many lawns and also finds its way into ditches and woodland edges.  It is also called wild onion for its great resemblance to the onion family.  Other names include star flower and summer snowflakes.

The leaves of star of Bethlehem resemble onion leaves as they emerge in the spring, with rounded, narrow leaves.   As plants mature the leaf blade broadens and looks more like a grass leaf.  It has a groove in the middle of each leaf that sometimes appears as a white line.  Plants form clumps and by midsummer the foliage has dried and disappeared.

Star of Bethlehem has bulbous roots that resemble small onions attached to a thick fibrous root system.  In northern areas the plants most often multiply through their bulb like roots, which divide into numerous bulblets.  Although the star of Bethlehem roots may look like onions they should never be eaten, all parts of the plant are poisonous.

The flowers of star of Bethlehem are actually quite pretty.   They arise on long naked stems that divide into smaller stems each with a shiny white flower about an inch across.  The flowers appear to have 6 petals, 3 of the “petals”, however are actually sepals.  These may retain a faint green line across the back.  The airy flower clusters appear in May.

There are 6 stamens in the center of each star of Bethlehem flower, each with a broad white base and a yellow anther on the end.  These surround a greenish pistil with a star shaped top. It’s almost as if there was a tiny crown in the center of each flower. If fertilized the flowers turn into little seed pods with 3 segments, containing hard black seeds.  In colder zones the plants don’t often set seed.

If star of Bethlehem is left in the landscape for its ornamental nature make sure that children and pets don’t eat it.  It would be wise to avoid using the name wild onion. If ingested the plant causes severe pain, vomiting and diarrhea and irregular heartbeats which can cause death.  Grazing animals eating the plants have died quite rapidly and this plant should always be removed from pastures.