Dodecatheon poeticum
Dodecatheon redolens
narcissus shooting star, poet's shooting star
scented shootingstar
not obvious at anthesis;
roots white;
bulblets usually present.
not obvious at anthesis or horizontal, short, thick;
roots tan to dark reddish brown;
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.
20–50(–60) × 2.5–6 cm;
petiole usually winged;
blade oblanceolate, base decurrent onto stem, gradually tapering to petiole, margins entire, surfaces minutely glandular-pubescent.
2–10(–17)-flowered;
bracts narrowly to broadly lanceolate, 2–10 mm, glandular-pubescent.
5–15-flowered;
bracts lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, 5–17 mm, glandular-pubescent.
1–3.5 cm, glandular-pubescent.
2–9 cm, glandular-pubescent.
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, 10–18 mm, glandular-pubescent, tube 3–10 mm, lobes 5, 5–12 mm;
corolla tube yellow with maroon, thick, often wavy ring, ring rarely absent, lobes 5, magenta to lavender, 14–30(–35) mm;
filaments distinct, dark maroon to black, 0.2–0.8 mm (usually concealed by corolla tube);
anthers 7–11 mm, (apex acute);
pollen sacs maroon, connective dark maroon to dark purple, transversely rugose;
stigma enlarged, diam. usually 2+ times style.
tan, often faintly reddish apically, valvate, short-ovoid, 6–9 × 4–7 mm, glandular-pubescent;
walls usually thick and firm.
light brown, often reddish brown apically, valvate, ovoid, 8–17 × 5–9 mm, glandular-puberulent or glabrous except for glandular-puberulent teeth;
walls thin, pliable.
without membrane along edges.
with thin membrane along edges.
= 44, 88.
Dodecatheon poeticum
Dodecatheon redolens
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 redolens occurs mainly in the high mountains of the southern Sierra Nevada, with scattered populations in the San Bernardino, San Gabriel, and San Jacinto mountains of southern California. Elsewhere in California, it occurs on scattered desert ranges in the northern Mojave Desert. In the Intermountain West, it is found occasionally in Inyo and Mono counties on the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada, the White Mountains, and on or near Glass Mountain. It is found across central Nevada to the Independence and Ruby mountains of Elko County, and the Deep Creek Range of west-central Utah.
Although difficult to see, a fairly good feature of Dodecatheon redolens is that the corolla tube usually covers the filaments and proximal end of the anthers. In both D. jeffreyi and D. alpinum, the corolla tube does not cover the base of the anthers. In addition, the tips of the anthers in the latter two species are truncate to obtuse; in D. redolens they are acute.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
CA
