''Primula pauciflora'', the pretty shooting star, few-flowered shooting star, dark throat shooting star or prairie shooting star, 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 primula family Primulaceae. It is a widespread and very variable species, native to western North America, from Subarctic America to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, often in xeric (extremely dry) and desert

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s. It is found in the Great Basin Deserts and

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

. Its synonyms include ''Dodecatheon pauciflorum'' and ''Dodecatheon pulchellum''.

Description

''Primula pauciflora'' is a widespread and highly variable

polyploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei ( eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contain ...

complex (2n = 44, 88 and 132). The species is generally hairless, with a flowering stem tall. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is made up of between 2 and fifteen flowers. The flower generally has long

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, magenta to lavender in color. ''Primula pauciflora'' has been divided into up to seven varieties each with their own often complex set of

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

. ''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''pauciflora'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

''Dodecatheon pulchellum'', is a

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 ...

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 wide ...

with single, leafless flower stems, growing from very short erect root stocks with no

bulblet In botany, a bulb is structurally a short Plant stem, stem with fleshy leaf, leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food st ...

s. It grows to a height of . Its leaves are basal, 2–15 cm long, blades

oblong An oblong is a non-square rectangle. Oblong may also refer to: Places * Oblong, Illinois, a village in the United States * Oblong Township, Crawford County, Illinois, United States * A strip of land on the New York-Connecticut border in the Unit ...

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

to oblanceolate, mostly entire to somewhat small-toothed, narrowed gradually to winged stalks nearly as long. Each plant has between 1 and 25 flowers clustered at the stem top. The calyx is usually purple-flecked, and the five lobes are 3 to 5 millimeters long. The corolla is 10 to 20 millimeters long, the 5 lobes swept backwards, purplish-lavender, seldom white, the short tube yellowish, usually with a purplish wavy line at the base. The filaments are joined into a yellowish tube 1.5–3 mm long, which is smooth or only slightly wrinkled. The 5

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 ...

s are joined to a projecting point, usually yellowish to reddish-purple, 4–7 mm long. The stigma is slightly larger than the style. This plant flowers between April and August. The fruits are capsules, many-seeded, ovoid-cylindric, hairless to glandular-hairy, membranous to firm-walled, 5–15 mm long, opening from the tip into sharp teeth.

Varieties

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

accepted seven varieties (distributions from the same source): *''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''cusickii'' (Greene) A.R.Mast & Reveal – British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington State, Wyoming *''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''distola'' (Reveal) A.R.Mast & Reveal – South Dakota, Wyoming *''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''macrocarpa'' (A.Gray) A.R.Mast & Reveal – Alaska, British Columbia, California, Oregon, Washington State *''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''monantha'' (Greene) A.R.Mast & Reveal – California, Oregon, Utah, Washington State *''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''pauciflora'' – widespread from subarctic America to Mexico *''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''shoshonensis'' (A.Nelson) A.R.Mast & Reveal – California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah *''Primula pauciflora'' var. ''zionensis'' (Eastw.) A.R.Mast & Reveal – Arizona, Colorado, Utah

Cultivation

Under the name ''Dodecatheon pulchellum'', the plant has 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 (Nort ...

’s

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. In cultivation it is

hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, Sout ...

down to , but prefers a sheltered location in partial or full shade with neutral or acid soil, such as a woodland setting.

Native Americans

The pretty shooting star was used medicinally by the Okanagan- Colville and

Blackfoot Indians The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

. An infusion of the

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

s was used as a wash for sore eyes. A cooled infusion of leaves was used for eye drops. An infusion of leaves was gargled, especially by

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

, for

cankers A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile ''Dodecatheon pulchellum'' (Pretty shooting star)Calflora Database: ''Dodecatheon pulchellum''
* ttp://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?ID=11610 University of Washington : The Burke Museum Herbarium – ''Dodecatheon pulchellum'' (Pretty shooting star) {{Taxonbar, from1=Q3018224, from2=Q15312552 pauciflora Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Western Canada Flora of Alaska Flora of Montana Flora of Nebraska Flora of New Mexico Flora of North Dakota Flora of the Northwest Territories Flora of South Dakota Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Great Basin Natural history of the Mojave Desert Plants used in Native American cuisine Flora without expected TNC conservation status