Rare Species Guide

  Synonyms

Primula meadia

  Basis for Listing

Dodecatheon meadia (prairie shooting star) is a characteristic and occasionally common plant of prairie remnants to the east and south of Minnesota, but it was not discovered here until 1980. It was found in an untouched strip of native prairie on a railroad right-of-way in Mower County (Oak Savanna Subsection). Follow-up botanical inventories of suitable habitat in Mower and adjacent counties found only one additional population. It was on the same strip of railroad prairie about 2.5 miles from the first one. There were several hundred plants in these two populations when the railroad tracks were abandoned in 1990. Subsequent road construction and agricultural development destroyed most of the habitat and most of the plants. Dodecatheon meadia was originally listed as a special concern species in Minnesota in 1984, but given its extreme rarity, it was reclassified as endangered in 1996.

  Description

Dodecatheon meadia is a relatively simple plant with a short underground stem called a caudex, a rosette of rather thick leaves, and a scape producing one to several flowers, each on a leafless stalk. The flowers are usually pinkish and quite distinct. They are clearly visible in the early spring above the emerging grasses and sedges and appear as the species is named: like a shooting star. What distinguishes D. meadia from D. amethystinum (Primula fassettii; jeweled shooting star), which also occurs in our area, are its seedpods, which are thick-walled, almost woody, and inflexible; the leaves, which have red markings at the base; and the flower color, which is lighter than other Dodecatheon species. (Iltis and Shaughnessy 1960; Schwegman 1984).

  Habitat

In Minnesota and adjacent states, D. meadia appears to occur exclusively in mesic tallgrass prairies, though farther east it exhibits greater ecological amplitude and may occur in woodlands. The closely related Dodecatheon amethystinum, currently known as Primula fassettii, also occurs in southeastern Minnesota but is confined to cliffs and rocky woods in the Driftless Area.

  Biology / Life History

Dodecatheon meadia is a long-lived perennial with coarse, fleshy roots. It reproduces sexually by seeds. There is experimental evidence that flowers of D. meadia from which insects were excluded failed to produce seeds, indicating obligate insect-pollination (Macior 1964). Although a variety of flying insects visit the flowers, solitary bees and bumblebees are thought to be especially adept at moving pollen from one plant to another. They use a highly specialized method to obtain the pollen. They hang inverted from the anther cone and rapidly vibrate their wings, loosening the pollen from the anthers (Macior 1964). Experimentally, seedlings can flower the second season after germination, though 5 or 6 years is probably more typical under natural conditions (Sorensen 1984). Seed capsules persist through winter and into the following spring and likely shed seeds intermittently during that time. The seeds are small and have no specialized dispersal structures. They are likely carried short distances on gusts of wind. Dodecatheon meadia can also reproduce vegetatively by buds produced on the roots. Vegetatively produced shoots can flower the first year they emerge above ground (Turner and Quarterman 1968).

  Conservation / Management

The native tallgrass prairie in which this plant occurs has been nearly eliminated from North America. In Minnesota, less than 1% of the original tallgrass prairie remains. It is important that all remaining prairie remnants in southern Minnesota be protected and searched for this species. The Mower County sites that harbor D. meadia are dangerously small and are potentially threatened by herbicide drift from nearby agricultural fields and roadsides. Other potential threats include salt pollution from an adjacent highway, unauthorized mowing, and poaching. Prescribed burns to maintain prairie habitat is recommended, but the timing of any prescribed burn is critical; it should occur only in early spring before the plant emerges from the ground. The two sites supporting this very rare species should be monitored and managed to control noxious and invasive weeds.

  Best Time to Search

The best time to search for Dodecatheon meadia is during flowering in April and May.

  Conservation Efforts in Minnesota

The surviving portion of the habitat supporting D. meadia is in public ownership, and efforts have been made to protect it from further damage.

  Authors/Revisions

Welby R. Smith (MNDNR), 2020

(Note: all content ©MNDNR)

  References and Additional Information

Iltis, H. H., and W. M. Shaughnessy. 1960. Preliminary reports on the flora of Wisconsin No. 43. Primulaceae -primrose family. Pages 113-135 in Beck, S. D., editor. Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. Volume XLIX. Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, Madison.

Macior, L. W. 1964. An experimental study of the floral ecology of Dodecatheon meadia. American Journal of Botany 51(1):96-108.

Parker, I. M., S. K. Mertens, and D. W. Schemske. 1993. Distribution of seven native and two exotic plants in a tallgrass prairie in southeastern Wisconsin: the importance of human disturbance. American Midland Naturalist 130:43-55.

Schwegman, J. E. 1984. The Jeweled Shooting Star (Dodecatheon amethystinum) in Illinois. Castanea 49(2):74-82.

Turner, B. H., and E. Quarterman. 1968. Ecology of Dodecatheon meadia L. (Primulaceae) in Tennessee glades and woodland. Ecology 49(5):909-915.