Also called drooping star-of-Bethlehem, this species was introduced for ornamental purposes and is widely cultivated. A diminutive close relative (O. umbellatum), known as sleepydick, nap-at-noon, and common star-of-Bethlehem, is native to northern Africa, western Asia and Europe, and was also introduced as an ornamental plant. It has been reported to be invasive in the mid-Atlantic, Northeast and elsewhere.

Drooping star-of-Bethlehem is an exotic plant. Its origin lies in western Turkey, Bulgara and eastern Greece. It is a typical stinsen plant and arrived on Texel when snowdrops were imported from France. Stinzen plants are (often wild) bulbous plants which were first planted long ago by Frisian (stinzen) and Groningen (borgen) estates, country houses and castles. Contrary to the indigenous Star-of-Bethlehem, the drooping star-of-Bethlehem can reproduce via seed as well as bulbs.

Nodding star-of-Bethlehem occurs in scattered locations in the Midwest, Great Lakes, Northeast and mid-Atlantic and has been reported to be invasive in Maryland and Pennsylvania. It is adapted to floodplains, fields, waste places, abandoned gardens and grows in full sun to partial shade. Sleepydick is more widespread and has been reported to be invasive in at least 10 states from Wisconsin to Connecticut south to Tennessee and Virginia.

Europe (Ukraine, Bulgaria and Greece) and Asia (Turkey)

Ornithogalum nutans L.:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

introduced; Ont.; Conn., Del., D.C., Ill., Md., Mich., Mo., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Oreg., Pa., Va., W.Va.; Europe; sw Asia; expected elsewhere.

Canada

Origin: Exotic

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Exotic

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

• Plant: bulbous herbaceous annual to 20 in. in height (nodding star-of-Bethlehem) or 12 in. (sleepydick).
• Leaves: basal, linear, narrow, and succulent with parallel veins, 0.3-0.6 in. wide (nodding); grasslike and less than ¼ in. wide (sleepydick).
• Flowers, fruits and seeds: flower is a “perianth” consisting of 6 petal-like structures called tepals that are white with a wide central green stripe on the outer or underside; flowers occur in racemes; fruits are 3-angled-capsules which are broadly ovoid.
• Spreads: by bulbils and seeds.
• Look-alikes: other spring-flowering herbaceous bulbous plants.

Plants (15–)30–50(–60) cm; bulbs progressively renewed over 3–4 years, 2–3 × 2.5–3.5 cm; bulblets numerous. Leaves (3–)4–6; blade with white adaxial stripe, 30–60 cm × (3–)5–10(–15) mm. Scape 2–5 dm. Inflorescences racemose, 5–12(–18)-flowered, cylindrical; bracts 3–4 cm. Flowers nodding, especially after anthesis; perianth campanulate; tepals white with wide green abaxial stripe, lanceolate, 20–30 × 9–12 mm, outer 3 slightly gibbous at base, inner 3 slightly wider; stamens: outer 6–8 × 3–4 mm, inner 13–15 × 4–5 mm; filaments 3-dentate, flattened; anthers 3–4 mm; ovary ovoid to subglobose, slightly 6-angled, 5–6 mm; style 5–6 mm; lower pedicels to 1 cm. Capsules broadly ovoid. 2n = 45.

Fields, waste places, abandoned gardens; 0--1500m.

Flowering spring.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.


No available public DNA sequences.

Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 2
Specimens with Barcodes: 2
Species With Barcodes: 1

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable

Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked

Be on the lookout for it and dig it up as soon as it is noticed. Most of the time, the bulbs will be extremely deep.

These species are introduced in Switzerland.

Once established, it spreads across the forest floor and displaces many species of native spring ephemeral plants.

Though widely cultivated and naturalized, Ornithogalum nutans is not as common as O. umbellatum.