''Primula pauciflora'', the pretty shooting star, few-flowered shooting star, dark throat shooting star or prairie shooting star, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the primula family Primulaceae. It is a widespread and very variable species, native to western North America, from Subarctic America to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, often in

xeric Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (Ancient Greek 'dry') shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this habita ...

(extremely dry) and desert

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s. It is found in the

Great Basin Desert The Great Basin Desert is part of the Great Basin between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Range in the western United States. The desert is a geographical region that largely overlaps the Great Basin shrub steppe defined by the World Wildlife ...

s and

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

. Its synonyms include ''Dodecatheon pauciflorum'' and ''Dodecatheon pulchellum''.

Description

''Primula pauciflora'' is a widespread and highly variable

polyploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the biological cell, cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of (Homologous chromosome, homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have Cell nucleus, nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning ...

complex (2n = 44, 88 and 132). The species is generally hairless, with a flowering stem tall. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is made up of between 2 and fifteen flowers. The flower generally has long

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s, magenta to lavender in color. ''Primula pauciflora'' has been divided into up to seven varieties each with their own often complex set of

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

. ''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''pauciflora'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Dodecatheon pulchellum'', is a

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

with single, leafless flower stems, growing from very short erect root stocks with no bulblets. It grows to a height of . Its leaves are basal, 2–15 cm long, blades

oblong An oblong is an object longer than it is wide, especially a non-square rectangle. Oblong may also refer to: Places * Oblong, Illinois, a village in the United States * Oblong Township, Crawford County, Illinois, United States * A strip of land ...

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

to oblanceolate, mostly entire to somewhat small-toothed, narrowed gradually to winged stalks nearly as long. Each plant has between 1 and 25 flowers clustered at the stem top. The

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is usually purple-flecked, and the five lobes are 3 to 5 millimeters long. The corolla is 10 to 20 millimeters long, the 5 lobes swept backwards, purplish-lavender, seldom white, the short tube yellowish, usually with a purplish wavy line at the base. The filaments are joined into a yellowish tube 1.5–3 mm long, which is smooth or only slightly wrinkled. The 5

anther The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s are joined to a projecting point, usually yellowish to reddish-purple, 4–7 mm long. The stigma is slightly larger than the style. This plant flowers between April and August. The fruits are capsules, many-seeded, ovoid-cylindric, hairless to glandular-hairy, membranous to firm-walled, 5–15 mm long, opening from the tip into sharp teeth.

Varieties

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepted seven varieties (distributions from the same source): *''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''cusickii'' (Greene) A.R.Mast & Reveal – British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington State, Wyoming *''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''distola'' (Reveal) A.R.Mast & Reveal – South Dakota, Wyoming *''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''macrocarpa'' (A.Gray) A.R.Mast & Reveal – Alaska, British Columbia, California, Oregon, Washington State *''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''monantha'' (Greene) A.R.Mast & Reveal – California, Oregon, Utah, Washington State *''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''pauciflora'' – widespread from subarctic America to Mexico *''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''shoshonensis'' (A.Nelson) A.R.Mast & Reveal – California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah *''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''zionensis'' (Eastw.) A.R.Mast & Reveal – Arizona, Colorado, Utah

Cultivation

Under the name ''Dodecatheon pulchellum'', the plant has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

. If not provided adequate moisture in the growing season they will die back to the roots, but will return in the next year. In cultivation it is

hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, ...

down to , but prefers a sheltered location in partial or full shade with neutral or

acid soil Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. pH is defined as the nega ...

, such as a woodland setting. Though they need moisture, the pretty shooting-star also requires good drainage, not a boggy or riparian situation. When grown in good conditions the crown will become much larger with multiple blooming stems. Larger plants can be successfully divided for propagation in the late fall.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile ''Dodecatheon pulchellum'' (Pretty shooting star)Calflora Database: ''Dodecatheon pulchellum''
* ttp://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?ID=11610 University of Washington : The Burke Museum Herbarium – ''Dodecatheon pulchellum'' (Pretty shooting star) {{Taxonbar, from1=Q3018224, from2=Q15312552 pauciflora Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Western Canada Flora of Alaska Flora of Montana Flora of Nebraska Flora of New Mexico Flora of North Dakota Flora of the Northwest Territories Flora of South Dakota Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Great Basin Natural history of the Mojave Desert