Little Stars

Though, in some regions of the country, this is an invasive weed, in my garden a few of these plants show up in the spring in a single bed that also includes shrub roses, forget-me-nots, daylilies, and rampant perennial asters. Competition is pretty fierce there, so I don't think they have prospered as much as in some places.

This small bulb is commonly called “Star of Bethlehem” or more technically, Ornithagalum umbellatum. Though it can seed, it mainly increases via bulb offsets to form colonies. The flowers are about an inch across and open for a couple of weeks each spring. They have been cultivated since the 1500’s as a medicinal herb and are still used in homeopathic medicine.