Utah Shootingstar (Dodecatheon dentatum var. utahense)

Dodecatheon dentatum var. utahense-Flowering Photo Credit: Rita Dodge

Global Rank: T1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Primulaceae
State: UT
Nature Serve ID: 145193
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 10/15/2005

Description:

The Utah Shooting Star (Dodecatheon dentatum var. utahense) remains dormant during the winter. During the summer this attractive plant occurs in shady moist rock outcrops. This perennial is 1-2.5 dm tall. The flowers are violet to pink and sometimes white. There are 5 petals that are fused at the base pointing upward, while stamens and pistil point downward giving the flower the appearance of a shooting star. The anthers are 6-7 mm long and the leaves are 2-5.7 cm long, 2-3.2 cm wide.

Where is Utah Shootingstar (Dodecatheon dentatum var. utahense) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Rock crevices and ledges among spruce fir plant communities provide ideal growing conditions for this species. The plant can be found in shady moist cracks and crevices or shallow mineral soil of a quartzite parent material with nearly constant flowing/dripping water at 2200m-2800m elevation.

Distribution:

This species is restricted to Big Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Range of Salt Lake County, Utah.

States & Provinces:

Utah Shootingstar can be found in Utah

Which CPC Partners conserve Utah Shootingstar (Dodecatheon dentatum var. utahense)?

Red Butte Garden and Arboretum

Not Sponsored

Assigned 06/09/17

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Known only from the Big Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Mountain Range. Limited by habitat: cool moist microclimates in cracks and crevices of limestone and quartz outcrops (Franklin 2005).