Ornithogalum thyrsoides

It is perennial, attaining 29–50 cm (11–20 in) in height, becoming dormant during winter. It produces half-a-dozen fleshy leaves which die after flowering - the leaves being some 15–30 cm (5.9–11.8 in) in length and 0.5 to 1.5 cm in width, lanceolate, smooth and soft-textured. The flowers are in a compact raceme of 30-50 or in a loose corymb of 5-20 flowers. The flowers are bowl-shaped with green bracts of approximate pedicel length. Flowers are white to creamy-white, with brown or green centres fading with age. They are seen from October to February, and are phototropic (turning towards the sun). The spindle-shaped capsular fruit holds black, shiny seeds of diverse shapes.

The plant was first named under the Linnaean System by the Dutch-born botanist Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin in 1776, shortly after the plant was introduced into Dutch gardens.[4] It has been cultivated in temperate Europe ever since.

The Latin specific epithet thyrsoides refers to a specific type of inflorescence, the thyrse - and ultimately to a type of ancient Greek staff or wand, the thyrsus.[5]

The common name chincherinchee is a translation of the Afrikaans name for this species, tjienkerientjee, which refers to the sound made by stalks rubbed together,[4]

O. thyrsoides has received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.[6][7] It is grown in a sunny or partially shaded sheltered spot. The plant becomes dormant shortly after flowering in spring and early summer. The dormant bulb must not be exposed to freezing temperatures.

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