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Photographer: Paul Drobot
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Family Primulaceae
Dodecatheon meadia L. subsp. meadia
eastern shooting-star, pride-of-Ohio
Dodecatheon: from Greek dodeka, "twelve;" thios, "god(s)." One source implies it was considered to be powerful medicine and under the care of the twelve leading gods, and another suggests that because the flowers sometimes appear in clusters of twelve
meadia: for Dr. Richard Mead (1673-1754), English physician
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| Status: | Native |
| Plant: | erect, perennial, 8"-24" tall, smooth forb |
| Flower: | pink to white, 5-parted, 3/4"-1" long, petals facing backward and upward from flower center; inflorescence an umbel of nodding, long-stalked flowers on a 8"-24" tall stalk; blooms April-June |
| Fruit: | dark red/brown capsule, thick-walled, less than 3 times long as wide, not splitting at the base |
| Leaf: | oblong, basal, often with a reddish base |
| Habitat: | full to partial sun; dry to wet; woods, prairies; in sandy, loamy, clay-like soil |
| Notes: | very similar to D. amethystinum except for the capsule and habitat |
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