Brewer's: Star of Bethlehem

(The), botanically called ornithogalum. The French peasants call it “La dame d'onze henres,” because it opens at eleven o'clock. Called “star” because the flower is star-shaped; and “Bethlehem” because it is one of the most common wild flowers of Bethlehem and the Holy Land generally.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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