Bog Asphodel

Common Name: Bog Asphodel

Latin Name: Narthecium ossifragum

Family: Liliaceae

The bog asphodel is a stunning iris-like plant that was formerly used as a substitute source of saffron in Shetland and for producing a hair-dye in Lancashire. In July and August it has six to 12 star-like bright yellow flowers with the stamens consisting of orange-woolly filaments and orange-red anthers. After flowering in September the whole plant becomes tinted with orange.

Bog asphodels are found in bogs and other wet peaty places on wet heaths, moors and mountains. They are said to be common in western and northern Britain within these habitats, but absent from most of central and eastern England.

In the Yorkshire Dales National Park bog asphodels are quite frequent in bogs and acidic flushes on peaty moorland and valley mire habitats. They are most likely to be seen in the central and northern areas of the National Park where they often grow alongside cross-leaved heath and round-leaved sundew.