''Primula'' sect. ''Dodecatheon'' is a section of

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. ''Primula'' species in this section were formerly placed in a separate genus, ''Dodecatheon''. The species have basal clumps of

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

and nodding flowers that are produced at the top of tall stems rising from where the leaves join the crown. The genus is largely confined to North America and part of northeastern Siberia. Common names include shooting star, American cowslip, mosquito bills, mad violets, and sailor caps. A few species are grown in gardens for their showy and unique flower display. The

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s are thrust out with the sepals bent back. The flowers are pollinated by

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s, which grab hold of the petals, and gather pollen by vibrating the flowers by buzzing their wings ( buzz pollination). The vibration releases pollen from the

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

Taxonomy

Carl Linnaeus created the genus ''Dodecatheon'' in ''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

'' in 1753. ''Dodecatheon'' could be distinguished by its buzz-pollinated flowers, with reflexed

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s and projecting styles and anthers. Repeated

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies agreed with morphological and cytological evidence that ''Dodecatheon'' was most closely related to one of the subgenera of ''Primula'', ''P.'' subgen. ''Auriculastrum'', so that if ''Dodecatheon'' is kept separate from ''Primula'', then ''Primula'' is not

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

. Accordingly, in 2007, Austin R. Mast and

James L. Reveal James Lauritz Reveal (March 29, 1941 – January 9, 2015) was a U.S. botanist best known for his contributions to the genus '' Eriogonum'' and for his work on suprageneric names. His website, at PlantSystematics.org, also presents material on plan ...

reduced the genus ''Dodecatheon'' to ''Primula'' sect. ''Dodecatheon'' of ''P.'' subgen. ''Auriculastrum'', and provided names in ''Primula'' for all former ''Dodecatheon'' species.

Species

17 ''Primula'' species are placed in ''Primula'' section ''Dodecatheon''.

Cultivation and uses

Several species are found in cultivation, including '' Primula latiloba'' (''Dodecatheon dentatum''), '' Primula hendersonii'' (''Dodecathon hendersonii'') and '' Primula meadia'' (''Dodecathon meadia''). Species of ''Primula'' sect. ''Dodecathon'' need good drainage and often dry soils in summer and winter when plants are dormant, in the spring plants like moist soils for best growth. Plants grown in dry soils tend to be smaller and lower growing. Since plants typically go summer dormant, seed raised plants need three or more years of growth before they are large enough to bloom. For some species, if given frequent light fertilization and kept moist, dormancy can be delayed resulting in larger plants after germination and the interval between germination and flowering decreased by a year or two. Another technique to shorten the interval between seed germination and flowering is to place the plants in a cooler after dormancy has set in, in late spring, and after a number of weeks move the plants to a shadehouse in midsummer where new growth will start. The flowers produce seeds via buzz pollination. They can be propagated by division in winter. Several varieties of the Pacific Northwest are edible.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q21378672, from2=Q2704175

Dodecatheon ''Primula'' sect. ''Dodecatheon'' is a section of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. ''Primula'' species in this section were formerly placed in a separate genus, ''Dodecatheon''. The species have basal clumps of leaves and n ...

Ephemeral plants Flora of North America Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Plant sections