Gagea
genus of plants
Gagea is a large genus of spring flowers in the lily family. Gagea species are perennially flowering plants. It is found primarily in Eurasia with a few species extending into North Africa and one species (Gagea serotina) in North America.
The genus is named after the English naturalist Sir Thomas Gage (1781–1820). They were originally described as species of Ornithogalum, which, together with the usual yellow colour of the flowers, explains the English name yellow star-of-Bethlehem for the common European species, Gagea lutea.
Morphology
The genus contains geophytes that use bulbous parts to survive unfavorable conditions and quickly reproduce during favorable conditions. Gagea species have persistent tepals, and are generally smaller in size than other closely related genera in the Liliaceae family.
The genus has varied leaf morphology. However, it is common for them to have basal leaves, some of which are cauline.
Some species have trichomes.
The public source identifies “Gagea” as genus of plants. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Gagea, genus and plants.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q157564. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1781 and 1820.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gagea” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.