ORNITHOGALUM AUREUM. 
(Golden Star of Bethlehem.) 
Ctass> Order, 
HEXANDRIA. MONOGYNIA. 
Natural Order. 
LILIACEAS. 
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VBRic Character.— P erianth s5x-petalled ; petals 
ding. Stamens six, hypogynous ; filaments awl- 
;d. Ovary three-celled ; ovules numerous in each 
in two ranks, anatropal. Style three-cornered. 
Stigma obtuse, three-angled. Capsule niem- 
iceous, obtuse, three-angled, three-celled, dehis- 
it the “apex. Seeds few in each cell, subglobose, 
jular ; testa dark, wrinkled. 
Specjfic Character. — Plant a bulbous perennial. 
Leaves ovate-lanceolate, edged with white, somewhat 
fleshy, smooth, dark green. Racemes erect, densely 
flowered ; the stalk 8—12 inches high. Bracts large, 
concave, pointed. Flowers large, golden-coloured. 
Filaments all dilated at the base, or rather sitting on 
a white glandular nectary, emarginate on the inside. 
Through the kindness of Mr. Brewster, gardener to Mrs. Wray, at Oakfield, 
nei Cheltenham, we are enabled to furnish a figure of this beautiful species, which, 
albugh more than half a century has now passed away since it first appeared 
acng the cultivated plants of this country, is yet by no means a common species. 
M t of the specimens now existing in collections, we believe, have been imported 
w: in the last few years, along with other “ Stars of Bethlehem,” and a host of 
til [ridaceous species which throng the terraced lands of the Cape of Good Hope. 
These plants constitute a prominent feature in the Flora of that district. During 
th iry season the foliage gradually matures and dies, and the bulbs sink to rest 
til he heavy rains again moisten the earth, and awake them to renewed activity. 
Tl T grow rapidly, and immediately the rains have ceased, they are ready to unfold 
thi lovely blossoms. Most of the Irids are fugitive flowers, but the Ornitho- 
gains are more lasting in their beauty. 
iChe length and breadth of the foliage of 0. aureum are somewhat variable ; 
so so is the colour of the flowers, which runs through several grades of yellow. 
Th flowers, moreover, of some specimens expand widely, whilst in others they 
pauke more of a cup-like form. As the interior portion of the flower is the most 
brii itly coloured, it is almost superfluous to add, that the former are by much the 
incj handsome. 
Some of the racemes sent us were ultimately from twelve to eighteen inches 
Ion The flowers are not all evolved at once ; but the raceme continues to 
olo ate, and the blossoms to expand, during a period of several weeks. That 
ko: which our drawing was made, with several others, was kept in water in a 
