Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Dodecatheon hendersonii is a species of Dodecatheon native to western North America, from California north to southern British Columbia and Idaho. In California, it occurs in the northwest (except the north coast), the Cascade Range, the Sierra Nevada foothills, the Central Valley, the San Francisco Bay Area, the north Inner South Coast Ranges, and the San Bernardino Mountains. It is generally found in open woodlands, from sea level in British Columbia, up to 1900 meter altitude in California. Common names include broad-leaved shooting star, Henderson's shooting star, mosquito bills, and sailor caps. D. hendersonii is summer deciduous, dying back to the ground after the rains cease. It has basal clumps of leaves, 2-16 centimeter, with nodding flowers 6-25 millimeter long on stems 10-30 centimeter tall. The flowers are magenta to deep lavender to white, with the stamens are thrust out and the sepals bent back. It is highly variable and hybridizes with Dodecatheon clevelandii, from which it can be distinguished by its reddish or purplish stem.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

4 - 12 in Tall

Dormancy

Summer Deciduous

Calscape icon
Color

Pink, Lavender

Flowering season

Spring, Winter

Sun

Partial Shade, Deep Shade

Soil description

Needs good drainage.

Sunset Zones

7*, 8, 9, 14*, 15, 16, 17, 18*, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Plant communities

Chaparral, Foothill Woodland, Valley Grassland, Yellow Pine Forest

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 2 likely

Confirmed Likely

Arrowhead Arctic Blue

Agriades podarce

Spotted Cut-Worm

Xestia c-nigrum