Narthecium ossifragum

Narthecium ossifragum, commonly known as bog asphodel, Lancashire asphodel or bastard asphodel, is a plant of Western Europe, found on wet, boggy moorlands up to about 1000 m in elevation. It produces spikes of bright yellow flowers in summer. The bright orange fruits have been used as a colourant to replace saffron by Shetland Islanders. Despite the plant's English name, it is not particularly closely related to the true asphodels.

Contents

• How to identify bog asphodel narthecium ossifragum
• Beenbreek narthecium ossifragum bog asphodel
• References

The Latin specific name means "bone-breaker", and refers to a traditional belief that eating the plant caused sheep to develop brittle bones. The probable origin of this story is that sheep eating a calcium-poor diet are likely to develop bone weakness, and N. ossifragum favours acidic low-calcium soils.

The plant can cause photosensitisation, a serious skin condition of sheep called alveld, "elf fire", in Norway. It can be relieved by moving stock into shade. Not all stands of the plant are toxic, and the toxicity may be the side effect of the plant's response to a fungal infection.

It can be found in purple moor grass and rush pastures.

It is tufted, hairless perennial. The leaves are narrow.