''Primula meadia'' (syn. ''Dodecatheon meadia''), known by the common names shooting star, eastern shooting star, American cowslip, roosterheads, and prairie pointers is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the primrose family

Primulaceae The Primulaceae , commonly known as the primrose family (but not related to the evening primrose family), are a family of herbaceous and woody flowering plants including some favourite garden plants and wildflowers. Most are perennial though som ...

. It is

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to the eastern United States and Canada, spanning north from

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

and New York, south to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. It has a wide natural habitat, being found in both forests and prairies. It is most often found in

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...

areas. It can be locally common in some areas of its range, however, it can become rare on its geographic edges.

Description

''Primula meadia'' is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

, growing to high, with flowers that emerge from a basal rosette of leaves (

scapose This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

). It blooms in the spring. The flowers are nodding, and form an

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

. Its seeds are dispersed by gusts of wind that shake the erect scapes. This species is geographically widespread, and has considerable morphological variation across its range. Most southern population have white petals, while northern populations have white to pink, lavender, or magenta petals. File:Dodecatheon by pfly.jpg, Pink-flowered File:Primula meadia.jpg, In southeastern regions, petals are typically white

Cultivation

''Primula meadia'' and the white-flowered form ''P. meadia'' f. ''album'' have both gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit. ''Primula meadia'' 'Goliath' is a

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

that grows larger flowers on taller scapes.Steiner, Lynn M. 2006. Landscaping with native plants of Michigan. St. Paul, MN: MBI Pub. Co. Page 82.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q22108552, from2=Q3107741 meadia Flora of Northern America Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus