Volume 4 — PLATE CCLXXIV. ORNITHOGALUM LACTEUM. Large White-flowered Star of Bethlehem.

CLASS VI. ORDER I.

HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA. Six Chives. One Pointal.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

Corolla 6-petala, erecta, persistens, supra medium patens. Filamenta basi dilatata. Capsula 3-locularis. Semina subrotunda, nuda.

Blossom 6-petals, upright, remaining, spreading above the middle. Threads widened at the base. Capsule 3-celled. Seeds roundish, naked.

See Ornithogalum odoratum. Pl. CCLX. Vol. IV.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

Ornithogalum racemo longo; filamentis subulatis, alternis sub-lanceolatis; bracteis membranaceis, ovatis, pedunculo duplo brevioribus; foliis lanceolatis, acutis, ad oras villosis; floribus albidis.

Star of Bethlehem with a long flower spike; threads awl-shaped, alternate ones nearly lance-shaped; flower props skinny, egg-shaped, twice as short as the fruit-stalk; leaves lance-shaped, acute, finely haired at the edges; flowers white.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. One of the Flower-props.

2. The Chives and pointal, the petals being removed.

3. The Seed-bud, Shaft, and Summit.

This fine species of Star of Bethlehem, from the Cape of Good Hope, was first introduced to Britain, from thence by Lady Miller, of Froyle Place near Alton, Hampshire, in the year 1796. It is a very hardy bulb, but does not flower every year, in this country. It will live with a very slight protection from the severest frosts in winter; should be planted in sandy loam; kept rather dry after the decay of the leaves; and only removed from its pot to renew the earth. It propagates by the root, and flowers in July. Our drawing was made from a plant which had been received from the Cape, in the Hibbertian Collection.