Little white stars that come out in the afternoon; they came over as a garden plant, but they found our climate hospitable and now can be found in lawns and at the edges of parking lots. These flowers were blooming in the Homewood Cemetery.
For a description of the species, see the Ornithogalum umbellatum reference page.
The six-pointed white flowers are unmistakable, with six yellow-tipped stamens whose flattened “filaments” seem to form a miniature duplicate flower inside the larger one. This is a European import that often makes itself at home in weed patches; this plant was blooming at the edge of the woods in Bird Park, Mount Lebanon.
For a description of the species, see the Ornithogalum umbellatum reference page.
These charming little green bells are usually invisible from human level; you have to get down to plant level and gently lift up the leaves, and there they are.
The leaves seem to provide an ideal lurking place for tiny spiders. The pictures above were taken in the Kane Woods Nature Area in Scott Township; the one below was taken in Fox Chapel.
For a description of the species, see the Polygonatum pubescens reference page. Note that there are two very similar species of Polygonatum in our area, treated by some botanists as indistinguishable; if any botanically inclined readers believe that these plants are P. biflora rather than P. pubescens, corrections are always welcome.
Though they are not recorded as wild in Pennsylvania by the usual botanical authorities, these dainty bells sometimes pop up unexpectedly as volunteers. This small volunteer patch has been at the same place in Beechview for a few years now, so we can regard it as established and spreading.
For a brief description, see the Hyacinthoides non-scripta reference page.
Arching fronds of alternate leaves hide the dainty little bells: you have to lift the stem, or crouch on the ground, to see the flowers, as we see below.
But it is worth the extra effort to reveal the flowers. They are small and green, but beautifully shaped.
These plants were growing abundantly in the Kane Woods Nature Area in Scott Township, where they were photographed May 5.
For the botanical description by Fernald, see the Polygonatum pubescens reference page.
