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Ornithogalum nutans

Drooping Star-of-Bethlehem · Nodding Star-of-Bethlehem · Star of Bethlehem · Drooping Star of Bethlehem

Family AsparagaceaeGenus Ornithogalum

Nodding white bells striped green down each petal, on arching stalks among grass and purple dead-nettle.
FlowerFlorian Siebeck (flo)CC BY-SA 3.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
bulbous geophytePlants of the World Online
Habit
Perennial, Forb/herbPLANTS Database
Flower
WhiteFlora of North America
Native range
Bulgaria, East Aegean Is., Greece, NW. Balkan Pen., TürkiyeGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS; Flora of North America — Flora of North America Editorial Committee; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

  • Nutans means "nodding", for the drooping gray-white flowers of this star-of-Bethlehem. Grown outside its native Europe and south-west Asia, it has gone wild in North America and become extremely invasive along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Maryland. Wikipedia: Ornithogalum nutans

This source reports two treatments. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around January 25, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Cold moist stratification

    Temperature: 40°F 4°C

Germination happens during step 1, in 70 days.

92% germination in 35–70 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Ornithogalum p. 183Public domain
Show the original text
Ornithogalum (Liliaceae). James Forrest reported that 0. nutans germ. 40(92% in 5-10 w), 70L(none), and 70D-40(35%-in7-10 w) showing that even 3 m at 70 is deleterious. In outdoor treatment germination occurred in late fall and early spring.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Ornithogalum p. 183. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Moderate Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around October 28, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on October 27, 2026.

  1. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C Light: dark

  2. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

about 3 months from start to step 2. Germination happens during step 2, in 70 days.

35% germination in 49–70 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Ornithogalum p. 183Public domain
Show the original text
Ornithogalum (Liliaceae). James Forrest reported that 0. nutans germ. 40(92% in 5-10 w), 70L(none), and 70D-40(35%-in7-10 w) showing that even 3 m at 70 is deleterious. In outdoor treatment germination occurred in late fall and early spring.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Ornithogalum p. 183. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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