[Shooting Stars: The Genus Dodecatheon Found East of the Cascade Mts. of Oregon and Washington]

White Shooting Star, Dentate Shooting Star

Dodecatheon dentatum ssp. dentatum

Synonyms: Dodecatheon latilobum, Dodecatheon meadia, Dodecatheon meadia var. latilobum, Primulat latilobum

White Shooting Star, Dentate Shooting Star: Dodecatheon dentatum ssp. dentatum (Synonyms: Dodecatheon latilobum, Dodecatheon meadia, Dodecatheon meadia var. latilobum, Primulat latilobum) - White Shooting Star, Dentate Shooting Star: Dodecatheon dentatum ssp. dentatum (Synonyms: Dodecatheon latilobum, Dodecatheon meadia, Dodecatheon meadia var. latilobum, Primulat latilobum)

Beautiful examples of white shooting star as seen from a vernally moist swale under conifers along Forest Service Road 3521, Wenatchee National Forest............July 8, 2012.

White Shooting Star, Dentate Shooting Star: Dodecatheon dentatum ssp. dentatumPhoto at right of white shooting star from McChord Creek, Columbia River Gorge.........May 1992.

Characteristics:

White shooting star is an attractive perennial which is fairly easy to grow in the moist, shady woodland garden. It is also fairly easy to identify due to the white flowers (other shooting stars may have white flowers, but not consistently so) and toothed leaf margins. The leaves are often thinner in cross-section than most other shooting stars.

The plants arise from short, thick, ascending rhizomes. The smooth-surfaced leaves have ovate to oblong or oblong-lanceolate blades from 3-10 cm long and 2-6 cm wide. The base of the blade is sharply rounded or heart-shaped, attached to a petiole equal to twice as long as the length of the blade. The stems are 15-40 cm long with 2-12 flowers. The flowers are white with five floral parts, the corolla averaging 12-20 mm in length. The tube at the base of the petals is yellowish, with a wavy reddish-purple ring. The filaments are free, less than 1 mm long, smooth, and deep reddish-purple. The connectives are smooth except for a lengthwise groove, and the anthers are 6-7 mm long.


Habitat:

White shooting star may be found on moist, shaded slopes or cliffs near seeps, streams, or waterfalls.


Range:

White shooting star may be found along the eastern side of the Cascades from southern British Columbia south to northern Oregon, and east to central Idaho. It is not found in northeastern Oregon.


Flower of white shooting star: Dodecatheon dentatum - Basal leaves of the white shooting star: Dodecatheon dentatum

Close-ups of the flower and basal leaves of the white shooting star as seen along the banks of Howard Creek, Wenatchee National Forest...........July 25, 2009.

White Shooting Star, Dentate Shooting Star: Dodecatheon dentatum ssp. dentatum (Synonyms: Dodecatheon latilobum, Dodecatheon meadia, Dodecatheon meadia var. latilobum, Primulat latilobum)

White shooting star from the webmaster's garden in Gresham, OR.

Paul Slichter