eureka! a positive identification

For the past few years I’ve watched every spring as clumps of small white flowers emerge from clumps of what looks like waxy variegated grass. I don’t know how they found their way onto my property but they seem to thrive in the semi-shade on the north side of my property under the trees and even in the lawn.  I liked them so much that I dug up several bunches of the bulbs and transplanted them along a stone wall. They are now in full bloom and look glorious. I’ve always wondered what they were so tonight I finally spent enough time at the computer to make what I think is a postive identification. They are Star of Bethlehem.

Ornithogalum umbellatum (Star-of-Bethlehem, Grass Lily, Nap-at-Noon, Eleven-o’clock Lady), is a perennial bulbous flowering plant of the family Hyacinthaceae. It is native throughout most of southern and central Europe (north to Austria and Belgium), and in northwestern Africa and southwestern Asia. In North America, it has escaped its cultivation as a garden ornamental and can be found in many areas.