1. From boyhood days in Suffolk, up to the outbreak of war in 1939… Star of Bethlehem – Johnny-go-to-bed-at-noon; goat’s beard [Tragopogon pratensis] – ditto [East Tuddenham, Norfolk, May 1994].

2.  Star-of-Bethlehem – star-o’-bethel – considered extremely unlucky to have in the home and often known as a ‘death plant’.  This belief often attends other members of the lilium family, including amaryllis [Lerwick, Shetland, March 1994].

Images:  main, Bamville, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, May 2015; inset London Road, Mitcham, London Borough of Merton, April 2020.