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• Gagea
• Gagea fragifera

Gagea fragifera — star-of-Bethlehem

Facts

Star-of-Bethlehem is a Eurasian species that is very rarely found in North America, having been collected only in Vermont.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats)

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Anther attachment

  the anther is attached by its base to the filament

  Anther color

  the anthers show no hint of a pink, reddish or purplish tint

  Bulblets replace flowers

  there are no bulblets where the flowers are located

  Carpels fused

  the carpels are fused (the number of carpels equals the number of locules)

  Flower bracts

  there are bracts associated with the flower

  Flower number

  3–5

  Flower orientation

  the flowers point upward or spread or curve outward

  Flower petal color

  • green to brown
  • yellow

  Flower petal length

  10–20 mm

  Flower shape

  • the flower has a tube-shaped corolla
  • the flower is bell-shaped
  • the flower is flattened or platter-shaped

  Flower symmetry

  there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)

  Form of style

  the style is lobed at the tip, and unbranched

  Fringed petal edges

  the petals are not fringed

  Hairs on flower stalk

  the flower stalk has hairs on it

  Inflorescence hair glands

  the axis of the inflorescence has hairs entirely without glands

  Inflorescence type

  the inflorescence is an umbel (with an axis so short it appears the flowers all originate from the same point)

  Marks on petals

  there are no noticeable marks on the petals

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of carpels

  3

  Number of pistils

  1

  Number of sepals and/or petals

  there are six petals, sepals or tepals in the flower

  Number of styles

  1

  Ovary position

  the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal and sepal arrangement

  the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal base

  the petal narrows gradually or does not narrow at the base

  Petal fusion

  the perianth parts are separate

  Petal hairs on inner/upper surface

  there are no hairs on the inner/upper petal surface

  Sepal appearance

  the sepals resemble petals in color and texture

  Sepal length

  10–20 mm

  Sepal orientation

  the sepals are slightly curved outwards from the plant

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are separate from one another

  Spathe

  the plant does not have a spathe

  Spathe form

  NA

  Spathe length

  0 mm

  Stamen number

  6

  Stamen position relative to petals

  NA

  Stamen types

  • the stamens within a cycle are all similar
  • the stamens within a cycle are distinctly of two types

  Stamens fused

  the stamens are not fused to one another

  Stamens fused outwards

  the stamens are fused to the petals or tepals at or near their bases

  Style petal-like

  the style is not broad and flattened like a petal

  Tepals

  the petals and sepals are similar in size and color

• Fruits or seeds

  Berry color

  NA

  Fruit compartments

  there are three locules in the fruit

  Fruit cross-section

  the fruit is roughly triangular in cross-section

  Fruit length

  At least 15 mm

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is a capsule (splits along two or more seams, apical teeth or pores when dry, to release two or more seeds)

  Other markings on berry

  NA

• Glands or sap

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Underground organs

  the plant has one or more swollen storage organs underground, such as bulbs, tubers or corms

• Leaves

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  the underside of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Leaf arrangement

  • basal: the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant
  • opposite: there are two leaves per node along the stem

  Leaf blade basal lobes

  the leaf blades do not have basal lobes

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf has no stalk

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is round or semicircular

  Leaf blade faces

  both surfaces of the leaf blade are exposed

  Leaf blade form

  Fully-formed (i.e., expanded), +/- green leaf blades are found somewhere on the plant

  Leaf blade length

  70–200 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is linear (very narrow with more or less parallel sides)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

  Leaf blade tip

  the tip of the leaf blade is acuminate (tapers to a long, thin point)

  Leaf blade veins

  the lateral veins are parallel or slightly arched in the direction of the tip

  Leaf blade width

  3–4 mm

  Leaf stalk length

  0 mm

  Leaf type

  the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  Leaflet number

  0

  Stipule twining

  NA

  Stipules

  there are no stipules on this plant

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  Vermont

  Specific habitat

  man-made or disturbed habitats

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the leaves have no particular smell

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem growth form

  the flowering stem is held upright

  Flowering stem leaves

  there is at least one fully-formed leaf on the flowering stem

  Stem hairs

  the stem is nearly or completely hairless

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae