Milla Biflora, aka Mexican Star or Estrellita; photos by Marni Hills

by Marni Hills

As my dog Lily and I were doing our daily grounding meditation at our sacred rock, a bicycle skidded to a stop behind us. Startled, we turned to see a sweet-looking young guy with glasses on a short little street bike, clutching a handful of white flowers. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said breathlessly. "I've been looking for these." He plucked two more white flowers and buds from a plant right behind us.

"I'm looking for these estrellitas—you can eat them!" His eyes lit up as he spoke. "There used to be thousands all over these fields when I was a kid," he continued (though he couldn't be more than twenty-five), "but now they are rare." Then he popped the delicate blooms into his mouth and held out a bud to me. "Do you want to try one?"

"Oh goodness, no, I won't take your treasures," I replied, "but now I'm interested- I will look for them in the fields."

He bicycled away, leaving me with a question: Should he really be eating them if they are so rare? I decided to begin scouring the fields outside the Charco del Ingenio Botanical Gardens and down into Parque Landeta. He was right. In a three-mile walk through the countryside, I could find only four plants. Perhaps this kid had already found and consumed most of them? But each one I documented revealed itself to be a snowy white, delicate treasure.

A solitary estrellita is easy to spot, photo by Marni Hills
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A Star in the Field

Once you know what to look for, you can easily spot them from quite a distance. They stand tall among the equally fascinating Blue Grama "eyebrow grass" (Bouteloua gracilis) and swollen finger grass (Chloris barbata), their white petals not ivory, not eggshell, but a crisp white like a starched tuxedo shirt. This small, six-petaled, star-shaped bulb flower peaks in mid to late August, but you can still find them through early November. They are said to release a strong fragrance at night, so you can bet I'm going out later to take a sniff.

Blue Grama Eyebrow Grass and (below) Swollen Finger Grass, photos by Marni Hills

Sacred Local Symbolism

The flower carries many names across Mexico's diverse linguistic landscape. In Spanish, it's called estrellita (little star), estrella, azucena del campo (field lily), azucena silvestre (wild lily), flor de mayo (May flower), and flor de San Juan (Saint John's flower). Indigenous communities know it by other names: esh-pi-sua in the Chontal language, guije-cana in Zapotec, and ghila-gana in other regional tongues.

The flower's association with Saint John and the Virgin Mary runs deep in Mexican Catholic tradition. The common names "flor de San Juan" and "estrellita" tie the plant to the feast of Saint John, and the white star flowers often become part of August feasts honoring the Virgin Mary.

The story goes that when the apostles opened the Virgin's tomb, there was no body, only flowers described as having "a unique scent," among other lilies and roses. Those flowers became symbols of her purity and her assumption into heaven. This legend may explain the custom of bringing flowers and herb bundles to the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15) in many Catholic countries, including Mexico.

A Botanical Beauty

Milla biflora is a fascinating perennial endemic to the Central Highlands of Mexico and extending south to Honduras and Guatemala. The flowers are indeed edible, with a slightly sweet flavor. The Mexican Star has been sighted in only the southernmost corners of the United States—on the Mexican border in Arizona and New Mexico—where it has been classified as a rare and "salvage-protected" plant, discouraging foraging and harvesting.

Perhaps this protection should be considered in Mexico as well. But the young cyclist's observation about changing numbers over his short lifetime could simply reflect the natural ebb and flow of wildflower populations, influenced by rainfall patterns, seasonal variations, and the cyclical nature of plant communities.

Vintage Milla Biflora illustration and (below) Queens NY Florist ad, 1800s

A Modern Naturalist's Quest

My enthusiastic search for estrellitas is no surprise. I'm obsessed with photographing and cataloging nature here in Mexico, because it is so unique and interesting - so different from what I knew about in the US. I use the Merlin app for birds and iNaturalist for flora and insects - they are both free to use and ad-free. They even host occasional webinars for contributors that explain all the ways they are using this global data to protect and serve our natural world.

In a way, this kind of mirrors my America's Most Wanted obsession that developed after they arrested a featured fugitive at one of my favorite LA dive bars— where I had just been the night before. Any of us could be the one who cracks the case. When they get you involved in searching, the population, citizen scientists, like detectives, become an army of eyes observing and reporting. Remember, someone discovered a completely new species of plant recently at the Charco del Ingenio Botanical Gardens. Maybe one day I will discover something completely new or catch a criminal. For now, I'll have to settle for capturing nature's ephemera like the Mexican Star.

The estrellita reminds us that beauty often exists in quiet corners, unnoticed. But in documenting each specimen, we become part of the story, uploading our witness to these remarkable stars that continue to grace the Mexican landscape with their pristine white petals and mysterious nocturnal fragrance.

However, if I come across a "field of thousands," I will definitely eat some.

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Marni Hills is a QHHT Regression Hypnosis Practitioner, writer, photographer, and lover of all things weird and unusual. She is an ancient astronaut theorist, dog foster, DJ, and is obsessed with travel, fashion, the Gaia Channel, never-before-seen footage, and mountaineering disasters. She made San Miguel her home in early 2022.

Previous articles:
Cyber Salvation, Bonding with AI
40 Hours in the Jungle
50 Best Bars - Revealed!
Grounding: Earth Day / Every Day
Cocktail Connoisseurs Convene, 50 Best Bars Returns
Fashion: Upcycled, Embroidered, Mexicano - Golden Lola
Trashing the Charco
A Home for Horchata
A Thread to Old San Miguel

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