Dodecatheon meadia - (image 1 of 6)
Taxonomy
Family: Primulaceae
Habitat
Prairie, oak savanna, calcareous fen.
Associates
Distribution
MD south to GA and AL, west to southern WI, southeast MN, IA, OK, and TX.
Morphology
Herbaceous perennial to 60 cm. Leaves all basal, to 20 cm long, lanceolate, tinged red at the base. Flowers nodding with strongly reflexed petals, in flat-topped clusters; stamens 5, united; bees must force their way through the stamens to reach the pistil.
Notes
Flowers mid April to late June
Wetland indicator: Facultative Upland
A popular ornamental plant that can form a stunning display in the wild; whole sections of a prairie can be filled with white, pink, and lavender blooms of shooting stars in May.
References
Gleason, Henry A.
and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States
and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Niering, W. A. 1979. The Audubon society field guide to North American
wildflowers: eastern region.
Knopf/Random House, New York.
Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.
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Michael Hough © 2004 |