The photo at right shows a close-up of the developing seed capsule of dark-throat shooting star as seen east of Salem, OR...........late May, 2006.
Dark-throat shooting star is an attractive perennial which should be fairly easy to grow in the garden meadow or rock garden. The erect stem rises 5-40 cm from a basal rosette of pale green, oblong to spoon-shaped leaves from 3-20 cm long. The leaves taper to winged petioles. The herbage of the leaves and stems is usually smooth-surfaced.
The 3-12 flowers have 5 floral parts. The corolla is 15-25 mm across with deep magenta to lavender petals 1-2 cm long and reflexed sharply backwards.. The tube at the base of the petals is white or yellow-ringed with a thin, wavy reddish-purple ring at the very base. The filaments are united to form a tube of yellow or purple anthers projecting to 1 cm from the mouth of the corolla tube. The anther connectives are smooth and and the stigma is not enlarged at the end of the style.
ssp. pulchellum: filament tube yellow, anthers 3.5-5 mm long, plants usually greater than 6 cm. Widespread east of the Cascade Mts.
ssp. macrocarpum: filament tube yellow, anthers 5.5-7 cm long. found in the Columbia Gorge, Willamette Valley and adjacent foothills.
ssp. monanthum: filament tube reddish purple, anthers 3.5-5.5 mm long. Found at scattered sites east of the Cascade Mts (to eastern Oregon, northeaster California, and Utah), Willamette Valley, and Siskiyou Mts.
Sticky Shooting Star: Dodecatheon cusickii- Sticky shooting star is similar in appearance, especially the flowers with the yellow band at the base of the filament tube. However, sticky shooting star is glandular, hence its name. When viewing the flowers, note the microscopic glands on the flower pedicels, which few-flowered shooting star lacks!
Dark-throat shooting star is found in sagebrush and moist meadows and streamsides from lower elevations to subalpine habitats
Dark-throat shooting star may be found from Alaska to Mexico and east to Pennsylvania and Utah.
In the Columbia River Gorge, it may be found on the Oregon side of the Columbia River from near Angel's Rest to east of Cascade Locks, OR. It may be found between the elevations of 200'-2000'.
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