BioImages: The Virtual Field-Guide (UK)
Gagea lutea (L.) Ker Gawler (Yellow Star-of-bethlehem)
| Diagnostic features | A. Distinguished from the exceedingly rare Early Star of Bethlehem (G. bohemica) by: 1. Single basal leaf 7-15mm broad. B. Distinguished from bluebells (Hyacinthoides spp) by: 1. Leaf with 3 ridges on back. 2. Leaf bent or kinked towards apex. |
| How to find | Young plants often greatly outnumber mature plants. They have tufts of long, vertical, very thin leaves; quite unlike the broader leaves of the mature plant. |
| Scarcity (regional) | Scarce |
Records (and photo sets)
| Taxon | Summary | Date | Vice-county | Country |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gagea lutea | In flower | 13 April 2008 | East Gloucestershire | England | 8 |
| Gagea lutea | In flower | 2 April 2005 | Oxon | England | 9 |
Suggested Literature
Identification Works
| Sterry, P., 2004, Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem, British Wildlife, Vol 15, No. 5: 366 | Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem |
Gagea lutea may also be covered by literature listed under:
|
BIOTA (living things) |
Eukaryota (eukaryotes) |
PLANTAE (plants) |
SPERMATOPHYTA (vascular plants) |
MAGNOLIOPSIDA (flowering plants) |
LILIIDAE (monocotyledonous flowering plants) |
Feeding and other inter-species relationships
Associated with Gagea lutea:
| leaf (live) | live leaf is swollen by sorus | Vankya ornithogali - Yellow Star-of-bethlehem Smut (Urocystales: Urocystaceae) | Legon, N.W. & Henrici, A. with Roberts, P.J., Spooner, B.M. & Watling, R., 2005 Ellis, M.B. & J.P., 1997 [forms elongated blisters up to 1cm long] |
||
| leaf (live) | live leaf is parasitised by amphigenous telium | Uromyces gageae - Yellow Star-of-bethlehem Rust (Uredinales: Pucciniaceae) | Legon, N.W. & Henrici, A. with Roberts, P.J., Spooner, B.M. & Watling, R., 2005 Ellis, M.B. & J.P., 1997 |
||
| pedicel (live) | live pedicel is swollen by sorus | Vankya ornithogali - Yellow Star-of-bethlehem Smut (Urocystales: Urocystaceae) | Legon, N.W. & Henrici, A. with Roberts, P.J., Spooner, B.M. & Watling, R., 2005 Ellis, M.B. & J.P., 1997 [forms elongated blisters up to 1cm long] |
Gagea lutea may be associated with more taxa listed at higher taxonomic level
|
MAGNOLIOPSIDA (flowering plants) |
LILIIDAE (monocotyledonous flowering plants) |
References
| Ellis, M.B. & J.P., 1997 | Microfungi on Land Plants: An Identification Handbook |
| Legon, N.W. & Henrici, A. with Roberts, P.J., Spooner, B.M. & Watling, R., 2005 | Checklist of the British and Irish Basidiomycota |
