Bog Asphodel- Narthecium ossifragum - Western Isles Wildflowers

Bog Asphodel - Yellow Wildflowers
These lovely star shaped yellow flowers display through the summer months in the bogs and wet peaty land.

Colonise - Orange Tips Later in Season
They may be small but as the plant colonises, the mass of yellow and later in the season the orange tips create quite a sight.

There are so many of the beautiful flowers all in one place, it is a truly stunning sight. These star shaped flowers can be seen all over The Hebrides.

Bog Asphodel - Yellow Wild Flowers
Seen All Over The Western Isles
These pretty yellow wildflowers are to be seen in various places in the Western Isles. They are a plant that is native to the Hebrides , although in other parts of the UK, these plants are becoming a little less often to be seen.

The flowers are quite small, only growing up to around 7inches in height. The yellow flowers are produced on leafless stems. As the name itself suggest, the bog asphodel is to be found wherever there is acid, damp or wet peaty moorland, where it colonises and it doesn't thrive very well in the shade,

Perennial
It is a perennial and consists of an erect leafy stem, which ends in a group of 6 - 20 star-like yellow flowers at its tip. it like bright light .Bog Asphodel produces creeping rhizomes or underground stems from which it can reproduce; however, it also produces seeds.

Attract Insects
The pretty yellow wildflowers attract many pollinating insects. Later on in the season, once the flowering has finished the tips go to a deep orange and still create quite a sight. You can see them in both Lewis and The Isle of Harris as well as the Uists of course.

Name - Asphodel
The name "Bog Asphodel" would suggest that this plant is an asphodel, and it was thought long ago that it was a miniature version of one, however this lovely yellowy orange wildflower is actually a member of the Lily family.

Latin or Scientific Name Meaning

The scientific name ossifragum means ‘bone breaker’ and stems from an old belief that after grazing on this plant the bones of sheep became brittle.

This belief was mistaken, however, as bog asphodel was not the culprit; it was due to the calcium-deficient vegetation found in the habitats in which the plant grows

Common Names
This flower is also sometimes called, Maiden's hair, Moor-golds, yellow grass

Star Shaped Yellow Golden Flowers

During the months June through to August and September, you will see the lovely star shaped golden yellow flowers..

Birds Foot Trefoil - Yellow wiildflowers - Hebrides

Bog Asphodel
Western Isles Wildflowers

Orange Tipped Bog Asphodel
Yellow & Orange Wildflowers

Bog Asphodel - Yellow & Orange Hebridean Yellow Wildflowers - Western Isles Flora

Isle of Harris Wildflowers
Bog Asphodel

Bog Asphodel
Western Isles Flora

Bog Asphodel
Isle of Lewis Wildflowers

Bog ASphodel
Orange Wildflowers

Click pictures below for larger photographs

Six Petals
The flowers have six petals and have have six long stamens sheathed by short yellow hairs with a prominent orange anther . The petals are very narrow and widely separated. The fruiting stems, a darker orange are easily to be spotted during the autumn months on the peaty moorland.

Uses of the Flower Bog Asphodel
This plant has been used as a substitute for saffron and also as a dye. Ladies in the seventeenth century used is as a as a hair dye

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