Two species of Ornithogalum subg. Heliocharmos are present in North Africa: O. algeriense and O. kochii. These are often confused with O. umbellatum from Europe. Several populations covering the spread of variation of these species were studied biometrically using macromorphological characters. Multivariate analysis results suggest that O. kochii is close to the diploid cytotype of O. umbellatum. The diploid cytotypes are closer to the popyploid series of O. umbellatum than to O. algeriense. These results are discussed in relation to biogeography and evolution.