Gagea lutea

{{short description|Species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Illustration Gagea lutea0.jpg

|image_caption = 1885 illustrationillustration from Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885, Gera, Germany

|genus = Gagea

|species = lutea

|authority =(L.) Ker Gawl

|synonyms_ref =

|synonyms =

{{collapsible list|bullets = true

|title=Synonymy

|Ornithogalum luteum L.

|Gagea fascicularis Salisb.

|Ornithoxanthum luteum (L.) Link

|Solenarium luteum (L.) Dulac).

|Stellaster luteus (L.) Kuntze

|Ornithogalum sylvaticum Pers.

|Ornithogalum persoonii Hoppe

|Gagea glauca Sweet.

|Ornithoxanthum persoonii (Hoppe) Link

|Ornithoxanthum sylvaticum (Pers.) Link

|Gagea sylvatica (Pers.) Loudon

|Gagea elegans Wall. ex G.Don

|Gagea transsilvanica Schur

|Gagea glauca Blocki

|Gagea indica Pascher

|Gagea lowariensis Pascher

|Gagea escarelii Arènes & Bouchard

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Gagea lutea, known as the yellow star-of-Bethlehem, is a Eurasian flowering plant species in the family Liliaceae. It is widespread in central Europe with scattered populations in Great Britain, Spain, and Norway to Siberia and Japan.{{cite web|title=Gagea (L.) Ker Gawl. |work=Plants of the World Online | url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:535577-1 |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|access-date=19 March 2023}}{{cite web |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=307312 |title=Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Gagea lutea|accessdate=1 February 2019}}

Gagea lutea is a bulb-forming herbaceous perennial with lanceolate leaves and green-tinged yellow flowers with 6 tepals.{{cite journal|url=http://www.botanicus.org/page/472996|author=John Bellenden|date=1809|title=Gagea lutea, yellow gagea|journal=Curtis's Botanical Magazine |volume=30|page=1200|accessdate=1 February 2019}}{{cite web|title=The Plant List: Ornithogalum luteum | publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Missouri Botanic Garden | url = http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-283626|accessdate=1 February 2019 }}[http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=gagea+lutea Altervista Flora Italiana, Cipollaccio giallo stellato Gagea lutea (L.) Ker Gawl.] It is a predominantly lowland species that inhabits moist, base-rich, shady habitats including; broad-leaf woodlands, hedgerows, limestone pavements, pastures, and riverbanks.{{cite web |title=Gagea lutea (L.) Ker Gawl. | work=BSBI Online Plant Atlas 2020 |editor= P.A. Stroh |editor2=T. A. Humphrey |editor3=R.J. Burkmar |editor4=O.L. Pescott |editor5=D.B. Roy |editor6=K.J. Walker |url=https://plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9h.vh4 |publisher=Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland |accessdate =19 March 2023}} It has been used as an indicator of ancient woodland in East Anglia.{{cite journal|url=https://pad.basingstoke.gov.uk/documents/4753/01/02/76/01027625.PDF|author=Francis Rose|date=1999|title=Indicators of ancient woodland|journal=British Wildlife|page=246|accessdate=7 April 2020|archive-date=30 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930022852/https://pad.basingstoke.gov.uk/documents/4753/01/02/76/01027625.PDF|url-status=dead}}