Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) • Earth.com

Yellow star-of-Bethlehem

(Gagea pratensis)

galery
en

Description

Gagea pratensis, called the yellow star-of-Bethlehem, is a European and Mediterranean plant species in the lily family. It is widespread across much of Europe as well as Turkey and Morocco. It was first described to science by Persoon in 1794. Gagea pratensis is a bulb-forming perennial. Flowers are generally yellow, sometimes with a green stripe along the backside of each tepal. Gagea is a large genus of spring flowers in the lily family. It is found primarily in Eurasia with a few species extending into North Africa and one species (Gagea serotina) in North America. The genus is named after the English naturalist Sir Thomas Gage (1791-1820). They were originally described as species of Ornithogalum, which, together with the usual yellow colour of the flowers, explains the English name yellow star-of-Bethlehem for the common European species, Gagea lutea.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum:
Class: Liliopsida
Order:Liliales
Family:Liliaceae
Genus:Gagea
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