White Asphodel - Asphodelus albus



Scientific Name: Asphodelus albus.

English Name: White Asphodel.

French Name: L'Asphodele blanc, Baton royal or Baton-blanc.

5 Key Characters:
  • lots of long stiff leaves, V-shaped in section, 1 - 2 cm wide, coming from the base.
  • robust flower stem up to 1 m.
  • white flowers clustered together in a spike.
  • favours damp limey soil.
  • seed cases brown with ridges.
Lookalikes: Spiked Star of Bethlehem Ornithogalum pyrenaicum, a much smaller plant.

Habitat: Heaths, grassy places, thickets, banks, open woodland.

Flowering Period: April-May-June-July-August.

Status: Restricted to the south-west and far south-eastern corner in France. Locally abundant and a common plant of road and trackside ditches in the forests near Preuilly-sur-Claise and in the Brenne.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. All photos can be enlarged in a new window by clicking on them. 1 flower spike on a ride in the Parc de Boussay, April.


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