Description
In October, the large golden yellow flowers appear just above the ground without leaves. The leaves do not form until spring and can grow up to 30 cm long. Native to southern Turkey, south to Israel and east to Iran, growing on steep rocky slopes and in the desert.
BELONGS TO THE FAMILY OF AMARYLLIDACEAE
This genus was named after Count Kaspar Moritz von Sternberg (1761-1831), the author of “Revisio Saxifragarum” (1810). The flowers bear a visual resemblance to those of the crocus, but there are essential differences.
The most important: Sternbergia has six stamens, the crocus three. They probably belong to the plants referred to in the Bible as 'the lilies of the field'.
For a sunny location on well-drained soil where there is sufficient warmth during the dormant period in summer.
