Dodecatheon

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This article is about the genus of plants; for the ancient Greek gods, see Twelve Olympians.
Dodecatheon

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ericales
Family: Primulaceae
Genus: Dodecatheon
L.
Species

See text.

Dodecatheon is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants with basal clumps of leaves, with nodding flowers. The stamens are thrust out with the sepals bent back. The flowers are pollinated by bees, which grab hold of the petals, and gather pollen by vibrating the flowers by buzzing their wings ('buzz pollination'). The vibration releases pollen from the anthers.

The genus is largely confined to North America, but also extending a short distance into northeastern Siberia. Common names include Shooting Star, American Cowslip, Mosquito Bills, and Sailor-caps.

There are 14 species:

[edit] Classification

Dodecatheon is related to the genus Primula (primroses and related plants); in fact, Primula without Dodecatheon is paraphyletic. One way of avoiding this is to move the Dodecatheon species into Primula. If this is done, the former genus Dodecatheon becomes a monophyletic section, Primula subg. Auriculastrum sect. Dodecatheon (L.) A.R.Mast & Reveal.[1]

[edit] Cultivation

Dodecatheon needs good drainage and often dry soils in summer and winter when plants are dormant, in the spring plants like moist soils for best growth. Plants typical are very variable in size, responding to soil moister, with plants grown in dry soils smaller and shorter than plants grown in soils that are moist. Since plants typical go summer dormant, seed raised plants need three or more years of growth before they are large enough to bloom. For some Dodecatheon, if given frequent light fertilization and kept moist, dormancy can be delayed resulting in larger plants after germination and the interval between germination and flowering decreased by a year or two. Another technique to shorten the interval between seed germination and flowering is to place the plants in a cooler after dormancy has set in, in late spring, after a number of weeks move the plants to a shadehouse in midsummer were new growth will start. The flowers need buzz pollination to produce seeds.

Dodecatheon can be propagated by division in winter.

[edit] References

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  1. ^ James L. Reveal. Revision of Dodecatheon (Primulaceae). apparently prepared for Flora of North America.
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