In all our wanderings on and around our place, Jo and I have found only one specimen of this beautiful wildflower. It's growing near the bluff edge below our house, in area I'd call rough, rocky, not very fertile and "disturbed". (It was scraped off with a bulldozer not too long before we bought this place.) Most of the other growth in that area, I'd classify as brush and brambles.
(Note: Jo deserves triple credit for this photo, especially for persistence and determination. Shooting Star stands about a foot tall on a slender stem with flowers and buds dangling loosely. Even the slightest breeze causes the entire plant to sway.)
Name: Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia)
Other common names: Pride of Ohio, Roosterheads, Prairie Pointers
Plant type: Herbaceous perennial native to eastern and central North America.
Family: Primulaceae (Primrose)
Flowers: White to pink to purple with no floral scent.
Sources and additional information:
Kemper Center for Home Gardening
Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center
Illinois Wildflowers
Missouri Plants
USDA Range Map and Plant Profile
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