498 DODEOATHEON 



after flowering and do not appear again until the next 

 spring. Shooting Stars are said to be easily forced. The 

 best varieties at present are obtained from Europe. 



The genus Dodecatheon is much confused : that is, 

 it is differently understood by different authors. In 

 the Synoptical Flora, 1878, Gray accepted hut one spe- 

 cies, D, Meadia, and referred all the known forms to 





DODECATHEON 



BBB. Capsule obtuse, thin, more or less cylindrical, 



surpassing the calyx, dehiscent by a circum- 



scission of the apex. 



Hindersoni, Gray. About a foot high : Ivs. small, obo- 



vate: fls. like those of D. eUipticum. Idaho to Calif. 



A.\. Anthers seemingly sessile, the very short filaments 

 inserted below the orifice of the corolla. 



frlgidum, Cham. & Schlecht. (D. Mladia, var. 

 frl<liihim. Gray). Lvs. obovate to oblong, very ob- 

 tuse, mostly entire : calyx-lobes longer than the tube : 

 .■:i|>sulc iililong. Behring straits to Rockies and Sierras. 

 B..M.:..s71. 



Var. dentitum. Gray {D. dentdfum, Hook. D. Miadia, 

 var. latilobum. Gray). Larger: lvs. with blade 1^ in. 

 long, oval or ovate to oblong, repand or sparingly den- 

 tate, abruptly contracted into long winged petioles. 

 Utah, west and north. 



Following ? mostly Olil W.nM lioi liiultural forms: 

 D. Lein6i7iei,] -t. Said to l-e a h\l>ii.l 1m1\v..ii D. integri- 

 tolium and I effreyi, and im.i m.^liiti' m rliaiactcr.— X). 



bust and erect, 1 th larger fls.. wliirl, :ur piirplisli rose, circled 

 with white.— D. maxiifiiiiu. IlnrI lis. n.se. — £>. Miadia, var. 

 elegans, Hort. ijvs. wi.h r iiii'l slimier; scape shorter: 



730. Shooting Star— Dodecatheon paucifl 



six varieties of it. Later (Botanical Gazette 11:231) he 

 revised his view of tlie genus, and recognized five spe- 

 cies. A synopsis of this latter view is here given, and 

 it is followed by a conspectus of the latest view of the 

 genus by Professor Greene. Various garden names are 

 not accounted for in either sketch, nor is it possible to 

 refer them to their proper places without studying the 

 plants themselves ; and these forms are Old World pro- 

 ductions, and are not known to be in the American trade. 

 A. Anthers on evident filaments, the latter being in- 

 serted at the very orifice of the short corolla-tube 

 and distinctly monadelphous: lvs. with tapering 

 base. 

 B. Capsule acute, opening at the apex by valves. 

 Hiadia, Linn. Cosimon or Eastern Shooting Stab. 

 Roots fibrous : lvs. 3-9 in. long, crowded on a thickish 

 crown, spatulate oblong or oblanceolate, entire or nearly 

 so, sometimes repand obtuse, below tapering into more 

 or less of a margined petiole: scape 9-24 in. high: fls. 

 few to many in an umbel. Penna. south and west.— 2). 

 integrifolium, Nichx. (B.M. 3622) is regarded by Gray as 

 probably synonymous, but in European horticulture it 

 seems to be loo.sely used to distinguish an entire-lvd. 

 from a dentate form. 

 BB. Capsule obtuse, opening at or from the apex by 



valves. 

 J^ffreyi, Moore. Large : lvs. from narrowly or elon- 

 gated to obovate-spatulate: capsule oblong or cylindri- 

 cal, usually much surpassing the calyx. Pacific .coast. 

 P.S. 16:1602, which represents a strong plant with erect 

 root^lvs. 1 ft. long, and purplish red fls. twice as large 

 as any cultivated before 1865-7. The name is sometimes 

 spelled Jeffmyi and Jeffreyanum. To this species, 

 Gray provisionally referred his vars. alplnum and 

 frigidum. The former appears to be the £>. alpinum, 

 Hort. 



elUpticum, Nutt. {D. Meadia, var. brevifdlium, Gray). 

 Distinguished by its globular or short-ovoid capsule, 

 barely equaling or slightly surpassing the calyx ; also 

 by the short and blunt anthers : lvs. short, obovate or 

 oval, with cuneate base. Gal. and north. 



Ho 



segments and stamens 

 very near the apex. > 

 ern Washington and ( ►] 



F. H. Horstord in 1899. 



ndia 



I cultiv 



gigantium, 

 ■s. paler: Us. 

 -D. Miadia. 



.'t of D. Jef^ 

 l.r. Roots, 



whole plant 



W. M. 



.\xoTHER View of Dodecatheon.— The species fall 

 into two well-marked groups : lowland species, which 

 flower in winter and rest during the long, dry summer; 

 and subalpine species, which rest in winter and flower 

 in the subalpine spring of July and August. Species of 

 the lowland group propagate by bulblets formed on the 

 crown of the root. In the following notes, only some of 

 the leading species of different regions are taken up. 

 They are not all in commerce. 



A. Lvs., roots and scapes from a short, vertical crown. 

 B. Anthers long, sharp, convergent; capsules valvately 

 opening from the top. 

 M6adia, Linn. Lvs. oblanceolate or spatulate-oblong, 

 6-9 in. long, toothed more or less irregularly, of a light 

 green: fls. from deep lilac-purple to pinkish. Ranges 

 from Maine to perhaps Texas, east of the mountains.— 

 The Allegheny mountain plant is entire-leaved, and is the 

 J), integrifolium of Michx. 



crenitum, Raf. Stouter, and of more fleshy texture 

 than the last ; foliage deep green, crenate rather than 

 dentate: fls. more numerous in the umbels, equally va- 

 riable in color. Inhabits either low prairies or moist 

 woodland borders of the upper Mississippi prairie 

 region. 



corditum, Raf. Very light green, thin foliage, each 

 leaf made up of broad, subcordate, crenate blade and 

 distinct though broad petiole twice the length of the 

 blade : fls. very few in the umbel, pale pink or white, 

 but with very dark purple ring at base. Cult, at Phila- 

 (lelpliia early in the nineteenth century, and named and 

 ,|,.riiiM,l li\ U'atinesque, the habitat not then known, 

 hi ! Hiwnto inhabit the limestone region of 



-. , I , i !^ :ind adjacent Missouri, along with a 



ft ..■ In r I (jiiallv rare and local plants. A most distinct 

 si)ocies hy its loiiage. 



BB. Antliers obtuse, forming a column {not convergent) . 



c. Capsules opening valvately : alpine species, or at 



least subalpine, blooming in summer, resting in 



paucifldrum, Greene. Fig. 730. Variable in size, 6-18 in. 

 high, but slender; hairs objanceolate, entire, suberect, 



