Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem

Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem - Gagea lutea

Description

Low to short, slender plant with a hairless stem. Basal leaf solitary, linear-lanceolate, flat, 5 to 12 mm broad, generally yellowish green. Stem leaves 2 opposite or sub opposite, lanceolate, margin hairy. Flowers 7, yellow, 15 to 25 mm in an umbel like cluster, each tepal with a band of green on the back.

Identification difficulty
Recording advice

Records from this species should be confirmed by a County Recorder for botany.  It is very rare in VC55, and therefore a specimen should not be taken.  Take detailed field photos and submit to NatureSpot as soon as possible; and if you think you have found it in a new location, inform the County Recorder as soon you can. (RPR)

Habitat

Damp grassland, scrub and open damp woods, especially on basic soils.

When to see it

Flowers March to May.

Life History

Perennial.

UK Status

Scattered localities, mainly in central and northern England and southern Scotland. Uncommon in southern England.

VC55 Status

Very rare in Leicestershire and Rutland, found in only one site in recent years, and decreasing

It is listed on the current VC55 Rare Plant Register (Hall and Woodward 2022) as Locally Rare (i.e. present in less than 3 sites)

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Additional images

All NatureSpot records