Ornithogalum arabicum L.

Spice Flower Flower 2 Fruit In the field

Family: LILIACEAE

Genus: Ornithogalum

Catalan common name: Lliri bord. Vicaris.

Province distribution: Alacant. Balearic Islands. Barcelona. Girona.

Distribution in the islands: Mallorca. Menorca.

General distribution (Phytogeography): South Mediterranean

IUCN Category: LCLeast concern

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Geophyte.

Habitats: Cultivated fields, path and road sides, disturbed zones. Path and road sides.

Characteristics: At the end of spring from the car's window we can (if we pay attention and herbicides have not been thrown) see large, open white flowers along the roadside: it is probably Ornithogalum arabicum. This is a plant with an underground bulb that forms wide, sword-shaped leaves, like almost all the liliaceae. It forms an inflorescence that looks like an umbel (corymb), with flowers with white petals around 3 cm in length, moreover it has an ovary that is almost black which stands out in the centre of the flower.