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padre's shootingstar

Dodecatheon conjugens

Bonneville shooting star, desert shootingstar, slim-pod shooting star

Habit Plants (7–)10–40 cm; scape glabrous, usually glandular-puberulent apically. Plants 5–30(–40) cm; scape usually glabrous, sometimes glandular-puberulent proximally.
Caudices

not obvious at anthesis;

roots tannish;

bulblets absent.

not obvious at anthesis;

roots whitish;

bulblets absent.

Leaves

(1–)3–18(–20) × 0.5–4(–5) cm;

petiole usually slender;

blade oblanceolate to spatulate, base usually not decurrent onto stem, narrowing abruptly to petiole, margins usually entire, rarely finely denticulate, surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes with sessile glands.

3–13(–18) × 0.7–2.5(–4) cm;

petiole slender (at least proximally);

blade narrowly oblanceolate to spatulate or obovate, base usually not decurrent onto stem, usually abruptly tapering to petiole, margins entire, surfaces glabrous or glandular-puberulent.

Inflorescences

(1–)5–18-flowered;

bracts usually narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, rarely oblanceolate, 3–22 mm, usually glandular, sometimes glabrous.

1–7(–10)-flowered;

bracts lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, 3–10 mm, glandular-puberulent.

Pedicels

2–5 cm, sparsely to moderately glandular-puberulent.

1–5 cm, glabrous or glandular-puberulent.

Flowers

calyx light greenish, 5.5–8.5 mm, glandular-pubescent abaxially, tube 1.5–2.5 mm, lobes 5, 3–6 mm;

corolla tube yellow with dark maroon, thick, often wavy ring, lobes 5, magenta or white, 6–25(–30) mm;

filaments connate, tube yellow or dark maroon to black, 2.5–4 × 3–4 mm;

anthers 3–5 mm;

pollen sacs yellow or dark purple, connective yellow or maroon to black, transversely rugose;

stigma not enlarged compared to style.

calyx light green to yellowish, sometimes finely purple-speckled or -dotted, 5–12 mm, glabrous or glandular-puberulent, tube 2–6 mm, lobes 5, 3–7 mm;

corolla tube yellowish with purplish red, thin, wavy ring, lobes 5, usually magenta, sometimes white, 7–25(–35) mm;

filaments usually distinct, yellowish or dark maroon, 0.5–1.5 mm, rarely partially connate and tube 0.5–1.5 × 1.5–5 mm;

anthers 5–9 mm;

pollen sacs usually maroon or yellow, sometimes yellowish and speckled maroon, rarely with reddish purple to purple speckles, connective usually maroon, sometimes yellowish or light blue to whitish, transversely rugose;

stigma not enlarged compared to style.

Capsules

yellowish or reddish tan, often suffused with purple, valvate or operculate, cylindric-ovoid, 8–16 × 4–7 mm, glabrous or glandular-puberulent;

walls thin, pliable.

tan, often striped with purple, usually operculate, rarely valvate, cylindric-ovoid, 8–17(–22) × 4–6(–8) mm, glabrous;

walls thin, pliable.

Seeds

without membrane along edges.

without membrane along edges.

2n

= 44, 66, 88.

= 44.

Dodecatheon clevelandii

Dodecatheon conjugens

Distribution
from FNA
CA; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; ID; MT; NV; OR; WA; WY; AB; BC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 4 (4 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Both Dodecatheon conjugens and D. poeticum occur in proximity in the Columbia River gorge. Some specimens here assigned to var. conjugens may have scattered, minute glands on the pedicels that might indicate past hybridization with D. poeticum (e.g., G. N. Jones 6286, ORE; R. R. Halse 3790, OSC, WTU). Dodecatheon poeticum is densely glandular not only on the pedicels, but also on the calyx and scape. The type of minute glandular puberulence seen on var. conjugens found along the Columbia River west of The Dalles is somewhat similar to that seen on var. viscidum in western Montana and Canada. Some plants referred here to D. conjugens have slightly connate filaments that may indicate some intergradation with D. pulchellum var. pulchellum. This suggestion is supported by the tendency in the same plants to have narrower leaves.

Some newly emerged flowers tend to have connectives that are less rugose than normal. This is particularly true of some populations in southern Alberta and, to a lesser degree, in Saskatchewan.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Connectives yellow; filament tubes without yellow or white spot proximal to each anther.
var. clevelandii
1. Connectives maroon to black; filament tubes with or without yellow or white spot proximal to each anther
→ 2
2. Filament tubes without yellow or white spot proximal to each anther.
var. insulare
2. Filament tubes with yellow or white spot proximal to each anther
→ 3
3. Pollen sacs usually yellow.
var. gracile
3. Pollen sacs usually dark purple.
var. patulum
1. Leaf blades, scapes, and pedicels glabrous.
var. conjugens
1. Leaf blades, scapes proximally, and pedicels usually glandular-puberulent.
var. viscidum
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 274. FNA vol. 8, p. 271.
Parent taxa Primulaceae > Dodecatheon Primulaceae > Dodecatheon
Sibling taxa
D. alpinum, D. amethystinum, D. austrofrigidum, D. conjugens, D. dentatum, D. ellisiae, D. frenchii, D. frigidum, D. hendersonii, D. jeffreyi, D. meadia, D. poeticum, D. pulchellum, D. redolens, D. subalpinum, D. utahense
D. alpinum, D. amethystinum, D. austrofrigidum, D. clevelandii, D. dentatum, D. ellisiae, D. frenchii, D. frigidum, D. hendersonii, D. jeffreyi, D. meadia, D. poeticum, D. pulchellum, D. redolens, D. subalpinum, D. utahense
Subordinate taxa
D. clevelandii var. clevelandii, D. clevelandii var. gracile, D. clevelandii var. insulare, D. clevelandii var. patulum
D. conjugens var. conjugens, D. conjugens var. viscidum
Synonyms Primula clevelandii Primula conjugens
Name authority Greene: Pittonia 1: 213. 1888 (as clevelandi), Greene: Erythea 3: 40. (1895)
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