[The Genus Dodecatheon East of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington]

Sticky Shooting Star, Cusick's Shooting Star

Dodecatheon cusickii

Synonyms: Dodecatheon cusickii var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pauciflorum var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum ssp. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum var. cusickii

Close-up of a flower of Cusick's Shooting Star, Sticky Shooting Star: Dodecatheon cusickii (Synonyms: Dodecatheon cusickii var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pauciflorum var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum ssp. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum var. cusickii)

A close-up photo of a flower of Cusick's shooting star as seen at Summit Prairie, Malheur National Forest...............June 26, 2011.

Characteristics:

Cusick's shooting star is an attractive grassland perennial. The leaves are in a basal rosette and the single flower stem arises from 15-35 cm in height. The herbage is densely glandular-pubescent, especially in the inflorescence. The leaves are ovoid with entire margins.

The floral parts are five with the stigma not enlarged and the filaments united at the base to form a yellow tube approximately 1.5-2.5 mm long. The anther connectives are smooth.


Habitat:

Cusick's shooting star may be found on grasslands, sagebrush, or forested foothills within its range.


Range:

Cusick's shooting star may be found from British Columbia south along the eastern edge of the Cascades to eastern Washington and Oregon and east to Idaho and Montana.


Cusick's Shooting Star, Sticky Shooting Star: Dodecatheon cusickii (Synonyms: Dodecatheon cusickii var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pauciflorum var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum ssp. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum var. cusickii) - Cusick's Shooting Star, Sticky Shooting Star: Dodecatheon cusickii (Synonyms: Dodecatheon cusickii var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pauciflorum var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum ssp. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum var. cusickii)

Close-up of a flower of Cusick's Shooting Star, Sticky Shooting Star: Dodecatheon cusickii (Synonyms: Dodecatheon cusickii var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pauciflorum var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum ssp. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum var. cusickii) - Close-up of a flower of Cusick's Shooting Star, Sticky Shooting Star: Dodecatheon cusickii (Synonyms: Dodecatheon cusickii var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pauciflorum var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum ssp. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum var. cusickii)

Additional close-up photos of Cusick's shooting star as seen in the transition between wetland prairie and upland sagebrush habitats at Summit Prairie, Malheur National Forest...............June 26, 2011.

Flower of Cusick's Shooting Star, Sticky Shooting Star: Dodecatheon cusickii (Synonyms: Dodecatheon cusickii var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pauciflorum var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum ssp. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum var. cusickii) - Basal leaves of Cusick's Shooting Star, Sticky Shooting Star: Dodecatheon cusickii (Synonyms: Dodecatheon cusickii var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pauciflorum var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum ssp. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum var. cusickii) - Cusick's Shooting Star, Sticky Shooting Star: Dodecatheon cusickii (Synonyms: Dodecatheon cusickii var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pauciflorum var. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum ssp. cusickii, Dodecatheon pulchellum var. cusickii)

Sticky shooting star, along SR-14 in Washington, across from Biggs, OR.....April 5, 1997.
Paul Slichter