Gagea lutea
(L.)Ker-Gawl.
Liliaceae
The Temperate Database is in the process of being updated, with new records being added and old ones being checked and brought up to date where necessary. This record has not yet been checked and updated.
Common Name: Yellow Star Of Bethlehem
General Information
Gagea lutea is a Bulb up to 0.15 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
17- Title
- Flora of the British Isles.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Clapham, Tutin and Warburg.
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Year
- 1962
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
,
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
Range
Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Spain and temperate Asia to Japan.
Habitat
Damp woods and pastures, especially on basic soils[
17- Title
- Flora of the British Isles.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Clapham, Tutin and Warburg.
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Year
- 1962
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
].
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Habit | Bulb |
| Height | 0.15 m |
| Pollinators | Insects |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Requires a moist soil, preferring one on the alkaline side of neutral, and succeeding in sun or shade.
The dormant bulbs are fairly hardy and will withstand soil temperatures down to at least -10°c[
214- Title
- The New Plantsman. Volume 1, 1994.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Matthews. V.
- Publisher
- Royal Horticultural Society
- Year
- 1994
- ISBN
- 1352-4186
- Description
- A quarterly magazine, it has articles on Himalayacalamus hookerianus, hardy Euphorbias and an excellent article on Hippophae spp.
].
Edible Uses
Bulb - raw or cooked[
4- Title
- A Modern Herbal.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Grieve.
- Publisher
- Penguin
- Year
- 1984
- ISBN
- 0-14-046-440-9
- Description
- Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
,
105- Title
- Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Tanaka. T. & Nakao S.
- Publisher
- Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo
- Year
- 1976
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
,
177- Title
- Plants for Human Consumption.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Kunkel. G.
- Publisher
- Koeltz Scientific Books
- Year
- 1984
- ISBN
- 3874292169
- Description
- An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
]. A famine food, it is only used in times of scarcity[
4- Title
- A Modern Herbal.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Grieve.
- Publisher
- Penguin
- Year
- 1984
- ISBN
- 0-14-046-440-9
- Description
- Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
].
Young leaves - cooked.
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse[
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Sow the seed thinly so that there is no need to transplant them, and grow the seedlings on in the same pot in the greenhouse for their first year or two. Give an occasional liquid feed to ensure they do not become nutrient deficient. Pot up the small bulbs when the plants are dormant, placing 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on for another year or two in the greenhouse before planting them out when they are dormant.
Division. We have no details of when is the best time to divide the bulbs but suggest doing it after the leaves die down in the summer.
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Useful Temperate Plants Database 2016 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
