Henderson’s Shooting Star

Mosquito Bills, Sailor Caps
Primula hendersonii
NATIVE

Description (Jepson, PlantID.net)

• Eudicotyledon
  • Eudicots are a major lineage of flowering plants; see family for general characteristics
• Primrose Family (Primulaceae)
• Perennial herb; summer deciduous
  • Grows from rice-like bulblets
• Leaves
  • Simple (not divided into leaflets)
  • Smooth or toothed margins
  • Arranged in a basal rosette
• Nodding flowers (turned downwards) on a tall, red or purple scape (a leafless stem rising from ground level)
  • 4-5 showy petals are swept backward
  • Petal lobes are pink to lavender (rarely white), with a broad white band and narrow yellow and maroon bands at the base
  • Stigma (pollen-receiving part of the pistil/female structure) and sharply-pointed dark stamens (male flower parts) extend beyond the petals
  • Ovary superior (above the attachment of other flower parts)
• Fruit is a many-seeded capsule (a dry, multi-chambered fruit that is dehiscent [splits open])
• Height 4-12 in.

Distribution

• Native to California
  • Grows in a variety of habitats, including grasslands, foothill woodlands, and chaparral
  • See Calflora for statewide observations of this plant
• Outside California, grows from southern British Columbia south into California and east into Idaho
• Grows at elevations to 6,235 ft.

Uses (San Mateo County Parks prohibits removal of any natural material)

• Wildlife
  • Pollen source to bumble bees and other bee species
• Native people
  • Flowers used decoratively and as a sleep aid
  • Leaves used as an eye wash or oral gargle
• CAUTION – Leaves and roots can be eaten when roasted or boiled, but are poisonous when eaten raw

Name Derivation

• Primula (PRIM-oo-la) – from the Medieval Latin phrase prīmula vēris, “little first one of the spring,” referring to the plant’s early flowering
• hendersonii (hen-der-SONE-ee-eye) – named after Louis Fourniquet Henderson (1853-1942), whom the Native Plant Society of Oregon dubbed the “Grand Old Man of Northwest Botany”
• Shooting star – for the form of the flower
  • The alternative common name mosquito bills refers to the narrow, sharp-pointed anthers

Notes

• Flower turns upward following pollination
• Pollinated most effectively by sonication or “buzz pollination”; see Primrose family for details and buzz pollination video
• Plants germinated from seed may take 3-5 years to produce flowers (Schmidt 1980)

ID Tips

• May be confused with padre’s shooting star (P. clevelandii var. patula)
  • Henderson’s shooting star is more commonly found at Edgewood
    • Purplish-red stem
    • Filament tubes, which surround the stalk of the stamens (male flower parts), are slender
    • Anthers (pollen-producing parts) are sharp-pointed
    • Leaves roundish (elliptic to ovate) and smooth edged
  • Padre’s shooting star is less commonly found at Edgewood
    • Green stem
    • Filament tubes are stout, often with yellow spots creating a band (look like a bumblebee!)
    • Anthers are blunt-tipped
    • Leaves more blade-like (oblanceolate) and wavy edged
• Jepson notes that shooting stars are highly variable and may hybridize
• Check out this short Jepson video for more ID tips

At Edgewood

• Found in grasslands and woodlands
  • See iNaturalist for observations of this plant
• Flowers February – April

See General References

Specific References

Wikipedia. 2018. Primula hendersonii. Wikipedia.org.

Schmidt, M. 1980. Growing Native California Plants. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. Pg. 104.