Bonneville Shooting Star, Desert Shootingstar, Desert Shooting Star, Slimpod Shooting Star
Dodecatheon conjugens
Synonyms: Dodecatheon conjugens ssp. conjugens, Dodecatheon conjugens ssp. leptophyllum, Dodecatheon conjugens ssp. viscidum, Dodecatheon conjugens var. beamishiae, Dodecatheon conjugens var. conjugens, Dodecatheon conjugens var. viscidum, Dodecatheon viscidum, Primula conjugens, Primula conjugens var. viscida
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The photo at left shows a close-up of the flower of desert shooting star as seen near the west rim of the Klickitat Canyon NRCA to the east of Mt. Adams ..........April 27, 2008. Note the lack of glands on the pedicel and the short filaments (rough area just to the left of the yellow corolla tube), both distinguishing characteristics of this species. The photo at right shows desert shooting stars in bloom at the top of the Klickitat Breaks, Soda Springs Unit, Klickitat Wildlife Area......March 31, 2021.
The photo at right shows another close-up of the
flower of desert shooting star as seen near the west rim of the Klickitat Canyon NRCA to the east of Mt. Adams ..........April 27, 2008. Note also the narrow stigma.
Characteristics:
Desert shooting star is an attractive perennial wildflower with
a basal rosette of leaves and erect stem from 5-20 cm tall. The leaves are lanceolate
to oblanceolate, spatulate, or obovate, 3-20 cm long, usually several times
longer than wide, with entire margins and a smooth to lightly pubescent surface.
The 1-10 flowers have floral parts in fives, with the stigma
not enlarged and the filaments are free, yellowish or purple, and usually not
over 1-1.5 mm long. The anther connectives are strongly transversely wrinkled
and from deep red to purple. The anthers are from 6-8 mm long. The tube at the
base of the petals is yellowish with a wrinkled red ring. The corollas are 1-3
cm long. The reflexed petals are purplish.
Key identifying Characteristics:
1. Stem and leaves nonglandular, with the leaves fairly fleshy and non-toothed.
2. Filaments only 1-1.5 mm long, giving the stamens the appearance
of being very short.
3. The filaments are not yellow.
Habitat:
Desert shooting star is a wildflower of seasonally moist open
grasslands or sagebrush in the plains, foothills and montane zones of the west. It is also found in moist meadows along streams.
Range:
Desert shooting star may be found from the east slopes of the
Cascade Mts. east to Alberta and Wyoming, north to British Columbia, and south
to northern California.
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The photo at left shows desert shooting star as seen in a riparian meadow along a vernal creek near the west rim of the Klickitat Canyon NRCA to the east of Mt. Adams ..........April 27, 2008. The photo at right shows a close-up of the basal leaf of desert shooting star as seen near the Klickitat Canyon NRCA to the east of Mt. Adams..........May 1, 2015.
The photo above shows a close-up of the basal leaf of desert shooting star as seen near the west rim of the Klickitat Canyon NRCA to the east of Mt. Adams..........April 27, 2008. The basal leaves are generally thicker and more fleshy than other shooting star species.
Desert shooting star as seen with midget phlox (Microsteris gracilis) at Klickitat Oaks a Columbia Land Trust property in the mid-Klickitat drainage........April 27, 2023.
Paul Slichter