Dodecatheon poeticum
Dodecatheon amethystinum
narcissus shooting star, poet's shooting star
jeweled shootingstar
not obvious at anthesis;
roots white;
bulblets usually present.
not obvious at anthesis;
roots white;
bulblets absent.
(3–)5–16(–20) × 0.5–2.5(–3) cm;
petiole usually winged;
blade oblanceolate to spatulate, base usually decurrent onto stem, gradually tapering to petiole, margins usually entire, sometimes denticulate to slightly toothed, surfaces glandular-pubescent.
4–25 × 1–8 cm;
petiole often winged;
blade oblanceolate to oblong, base decurrent onto stem, often gradually tapering to petiole, margins entire, surfaces glabrous.
2–10(–17)-flowered;
bracts narrowly to broadly lanceolate, 2–10 mm, glandular-pubescent.
1–10(–24)-flowered;
bracts narrowly or broadly lanceolate, 2–10 mm, glabrous.
1–3.5 cm, glandular-pubescent.
1–5 cm, glandular at proximal 1 or 2 nodes, glabrous distally.
calyx greenish, often with pinkish purple to purple speckles, 5–9 mm, glabrous or slightly glandular at least along margins, tube 2–4(–5) mm, lobes 5, 3–5 mm;
corolla tube maroon and yellow with reddish, thin, wavy ring, lobes 5, magenta to lavender, (8–)10–15(–18) mm;
filaments connate, tube maroon, 1.5–3 × 2–3 mm;
anthers 4–7 mm;
pollen sacs maroon to black, connective deep purple to black, transversely rugose (sometimes seemingly smooth [when immature] or transversely wrinkled [when dried]);
stigma not enlarged compared to style.
calyx light green to green, 3–8(–10) mm, glabrous, tube 3–5 mm, lobes 5, (1–)3–7 mm;
corolla tube usually maroon with maroon, thin, wavy ring, lobes 5, pink to purplish, rarely white, 8–20 mm;
filaments connate, tube maroon, 0.5–2(–2.5) × 2–3.5 mm;
anthers (3.5–)5–7.5(–8.5) mm;
pollen sacs reddish to maroon, rarely pale, connective maroon, smooth;
stigma not enlarged compared to style.
tan, often faintly reddish apically, valvate, short-ovoid, 6–9 × 4–7 mm, glandular-pubescent;
walls usually thick and firm.
light brown to reddish brown or yellowish, valvate, cylindric-ovoid, 7–16 × 3–5 mm, glabrous;
walls thin, pliable.
without membrane along edges.
without membrane along edges.
= 44, 88.
Dodecatheon poeticum
Dodecatheon amethystinum
Dodecatheon poeticum grows mainly in the Columbia River gorge and on the eastern edge of the Cascade Range in Washington, and in Oregon. Nearby one can find D. conjugens var. conjugens and D. pulchellum var. cusickii, features of which (the rugose connective of the former, the glandular condition of the latter) are combined in D. poeticum. The distinct filaments of var. conjugens readily distinguish that taxon from D. poeticum; distinction between D. poeticum and D. pulchellum var. cusickii is difficult. The former has maroon pollen sacs; var. cusickii has yellow ones. Plants with all of the features of D. poeticum rarely have the smooth connective typical of D. pulchellum. H. J. Thompson (1953) suggested that D. poeticum (a tetraploid) might be the product of an allopolyploid involving var. cusickii and D. hendersonii (both diploids).
The leaves of Dodecatheon poeticum are occasionally slightly toothed and relatively broad (e.g., K. L. Chambers 2080, OSC) and resemble the leaves of D. dentatum, a species that flowers in the Gorge typically after D. poeticum. Rootstocks with bulblets are rarely seen on herbarium specimens.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Dodecatheon amethystinum is found mainly on, and at the bases of, limestone cliffs in hardwood forests from southwestern Wisconsin and adjacent southeastern Minnesota to northeastern Iowa, western Illinois, and eastern Missouri. It is disjunct to the eastern Appalachian Mountains of southeastern Pennsylvania; reports from northern West Virginia are based on specimens of D. meadia. Vegetatively, D. amethystinum is allied to D. meadia although its thin-walled (rather than thick and firm) fruit is like that of D. pulchellum. The only truly distinguishing feature between it and D. meadia is the fully mature capsules (L. H. Klotz and C. Loeffler 2007). In D. amethystinum, length of the light to reddish brown or yellowish capsule often is more than three times the diameter. The length of the dark reddish brown capsule of D. meadia is less than three times the diameter. As noted by H. H. Iltis and W. M. Shaughnessy (1960), D. amethystinum tends to grow on moist cliff faces and bluffs; D. meadia tends to occur on drier sites in prairie settings and in deciduous woodlands. Dodecatheon meadia is sometimes found in moist areas, and even on cliff faces; these sites are still comparatively drier. According to A. F. Cholewa, some populations in southern Minnesota that she considers to be D. amethystinum have leaves that are relatively broad and tend not to taper gradually to the petiole. In that light, continued recognition of D. amethystinum at the species level becomes dubious.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
IL Wildflowers
MN Wildflowers
MO Plants
