This is the second and less common shooting star native in the Willamette Valley locally into the Gorge, its more common to the north. AKA Alaska shooting star it has several important differences. The flower structure and petal color are very similar to Dodecatheon hendersonii foothill shooting star but they are closer to pink than purple and the color gets darker at the base of the petal. The face of the flower is white and yellow with a bright orange filament around the center. And the leaves are large and distinctively long. As for culture this species is endemic to rich soils that retain moisture in the moist parts of meadows in full sun to very light shade Near Eugene where i grew up this was the wet loving shooting star that you could find along moist stream banks. The more common D. hendersonii is almost exclusively an upland perennial. Loved by early pollinators when the striking flowers appear April-June. To 18″ tall in bloom. The whole plant retreats into dormancy with hot weather- it disappears. This more moisture tolerant species is easier to cultivate with more traditional perennials. In habitat its close friends are Camassia quamash maxima and Camassia l. suksdorfii, Plagiobothyrs figuratus , Mitella oregana and Delphinium trollifolium. Excellent perennial for a rain garden. Nice cut flower too. Oregon native plant.
