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Ornithogalum umbellatum
O. umbellatum requires considerable moisture during winter and spring, but can tolerate summer drought. It can be grown in a woodland garden (where I found it) as semi-shade is preferable. The plant is toxic. It is used in some herbal remedies
@drP: I agree with you 100%. Many of the herbal remedies are toxic at the same time. It is really interesting how we discovered to use toxic, changed to remedies.
It's funny you should mention that. I've been reading a bit lately about medicinal uses for plants, and that seems to be very common. Like many traditional medicines, the proper dosage at the proper time is beneficial, but a dosage that is too high or administered under improper conditions (e.g., in combination with other medicines, or obtained from the plant at the wrong time of year) can be either ineffective or toxic.
Thank you very much drP. The plant is toxic but also used in some herbal remedies? Interesting....
I'd just change "Ornithogalum" to "Ornithogalum umbellatum". Saying Ornithogalum alone says it could be any species within the genus. Since this is clearly one particular species, it should be listed as Ornithogalum umbellatum. Hope this helps.
Thank you very much drP. Dandoucette gave me ID earlier and I checked both. And, I believe both common names are same thing. Am I wrong?
If the USDA Plants Database is correct, there are only two species of Ornithogalum in New York. Of the two, this is clearly O. umbellatum. It is also the only species of Ornithogalum that I know of that has the green and white stripes on the back of the sepals and petals (shown on the closed bud in the second picture).
Spotted on Jun 2, 2013
Submitted on Jun 2, 2013
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