Wonder Flower (Ornithogalum thyrsoides)
Description
“Pet poisonous” – Toxic parts: entire plant Ornithogalum thyrsoides is a bulbous plant species that is endemic to the Cape Province in South Africa. It is also known by the common names of chinkerinchee or chincherinchee, star-of-Bethlehem or wonder-flower. It produces long-lasting flowers prized as cut flowers. It is perennial, attaining 20 to 50 cm in height, becoming dormant during winter. It produces some half-a-dozen fleshy leaves which die after flowering - the leaves being some 15 to 30 cm in length and 0.5 to 1.5 cm in width, lanceolate, smooth and soft-textured. The flowers are in a compact raceme of some 30-50 or in a loose corymb of 5-20 flowers. The flowers are bowl-shaped with green bracts of approximate pedicel length. Flowers are white to creamy-white, with brown or green centres fading with age. They are seen from October to February, and are phototropic. The spindle-shaped capsular fruit holds black, shiny seeds of diverse shapes.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Liliopsida
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Order: Asparagales
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Family: Asparagaceae
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Genus: Ornithogalum
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