Dodecatheon dentatum

Dodecatheon dentatum

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Primulaceae
Genus: Dodecatheon
Species: D. dentatum
Binomial name
Dodecatheon dentatum
Hook.

Dodecatheon dentatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, known by the common names white shooting star and toothed American cowslip.

It is native to areas of western North America, in Arizona, British Columbia, Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington (state). [1]

Description

Dodecatheon dentatum is an herbaceous perennial growing to 40–50 cm (16–20 in) in height.

This species has toothed (dentate) leaves, hence one of its common names. [2] The leaves have pointed oval blades up to 10 cm long by 6 cm wide with wavy or toothed edges. Each is borne on a long, winged petiole.

The inflorescence contains 1 to 12 flowers. It arises on a tall, erect flowering stalk. The flower corolla has five white lobes each 1 or 2 centimeters long. They are reflexed away from the flower's center, which contains one style surrounded by large reddish, purplish or black anthers containing pollen.[3][4] Its bloom period is May to July.

It is the only shooting star to have populations with consistently white flowers. [2] In Utah, petals may be pink or pale violet; elsewhere petals are white or cream. Plants in Arizona and New Mexico have stamens with yellow filaments, in the Northwest filaments are dark maroon or black. [2]

Subspecies

This species is classified into several subspecies:[1][5]

Cultivation

Dodecatheon dentatum is cultivated as a perennial ornamental plant, used in traditional and native plant shade gardens. [2] It is of special value to native Bumble bees. [2] The plants usually go dormant almost immediately after flowering. [2]

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[11]

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/17/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.