Bath Star-Of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum Pyre-Naicum, L.)

The habitat of this plant is woods and copses. The habit is lily-like. The bulb is egg-shaped. The aerial stem is a tall, stout scape. The leaves wither before the stalk appears, and are vernal, hollow above, bluish-green, linear.

The bracts are awl-like. The flowers are numer-.ous, in a long-, narrow, spiked raceme. The flower-stalks are spreading- at first, then erect. The perianth-segments are narrow to oblong, variable in length, green, the margins white inside. The anther-stalks are swollen below to the middle, long-pointed. The plant is 1-2 ft. high, flowering in June and July, and is a herbaceous perennial.

Drooping Star-Of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum Nutans, L.)

The habitat of this plant is copses, shrubberies, orchards, fields, and waste places. The leaves are linear, lance-shaped, broad, bluish-green, with a white stripe, grooved. The scape is as long as the leaves. The bracts are long and slender. The flowers are white, few, drooping (hence nutans), in a loose raceme. The flower-stalks are curved, shorter than the bracts. The perianth is broad, with lance-shaped segments, green externally. The anther-stalks are broadly swollen upwards, 3-lobed, flat, membranous, the lateral points acute, the middle short, bearing the anther. The capsule is pendulous, egg-shaped, green, and fleshy. The plant is 9-12 in. high, flowering in April and May, and is a herbaceous perennial.

Purple Martagon Lily (Lilium Martagon, L.)

The habitat of this plant is woods and copses. The habit is lily-like. The stem is downy, rough, rounded. The leaves are stalked, inversely egg-shaped to lance-shaped, in whorls of 6-8, the upper linear, acute. The flowers are in an erect raceme, drooping, sweet-scented at night. The bracts are green, linear to lance-shaped. The perianth-segments are flesh-coloured to purple, bent back, oblong, with dark, raised papillae. The honey-gland has thick, raised borders. The plant is 1- 1 1/2 ft. high, flowering from June to September, and is a herbaceous perennial.

Pyrenean Lily (Lilium Pyreniaicum, Gouan)

The habitat of this lily is hedgebanks. The habit is as in the last. The leaves are scattered, linear, lance-shaped. The flowers are yellow, with black dots below, nodding. The perianth is turned back, and the segments linear lance-shaped, yellow. The plant is 1-3 ft. high, flowering in June and July, and is a herbaceous perennial.

Yellow Star-Of-Bethlehem (Gagea Lutea, Ker.)

The habitat of this plant is woods, thickets, pastures. The habit is lily-like. The stem is angular, not as long as the leaf. The bulb is solitary, small, egg-shaped or nearly round, with basal bulbils. The radical leaf is linear lance-shaped, ribbed, flat. The scape is short. There are 1-3 bracts, 2 opposite, 1 exceeding the flowers. The sheath is slender. The flowers are yellow, in an umbel. The perianth-segments are linear-oblong, blunt, thin, yellow-green at the back. The flower opens only in the middle of the day. The capsule is membranous, the seeds numerous. The plant is 6-10 in. high, flowering in March till May, and is a herbaceous perennial.

Herb Paris (Paris Quadrifolia, L.)

The habitat of this plant is damp woods. The habit is erect. The rootstock is white, creeping. The stem is round, leafy above, with a sheath below. The leaves are egg-shaped to oblong, or inversely egg-shaped, 4 as a rule when the flowers are in 4's, or more when the segments are more, 3-5-nerved. The flowers are solitary, stalked, erect. The sepals are lance-shaped, green, with a long point, as long as the yellow awl-like petals. The connective is produced. The fruit is a black berry, which bursts irregularly. The seeds are black. The plant is 6-12 in. high, flowering in May, and is a herbaceous perennial.