![]() Use shooting start in shady native plant or wildflower gardens, woodland garden or for naturalizing. Shooting star interplanted with prairie dropseed ( Sporobolus heterolepis) at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Madison, WI. Plant it where taller plants will not overtake it until later in the season. Since it naturally dies back in summer, drought at that time does not affect it but it does not need a dry dormant period like most of the western species do. It tolerates clay soil, but prefers humusy, rocky or sandy, well-drained soils. Shooting star grows best in partial shade, but can tolerate full sun in cooler zones and full shade as long as the soil is moist (but not wet) in the spring. A flower scape emerges from the center of the basal rosette (L) with a terminal umbel with many flower buds (LC) that open in late spring (RC), with each flower pointing downward and the petals pointing upward (R). Pollinated flowers are followed by erect oval to cylindrical mahogany-colored capsules ¼ to ¾ inch long that contain very fine seeds that are dispersed when wind blows the capsules. Flowers are visited by bumblebees and some other native bees to collect pollen, but not honeybees as the flowers do not provide nectar. The base of the fused petals have uneven rings of white, yellow and maroon around the base. Northern populations tend to have lavender to purple petals and southern populations skew more toward white petals but there is considerable variation across its range. Within any population the petals naturally vary widely in color from purple to pink or rose or white. The one-inch long, dangling flowers each have five upward reflexed petals and a cluster of yellow stamens surrounding a single, purplish green style that converge to a downward point. ![]() Each terminal umbel has 8-20 flowers that open in late spring. In mid-spring one or more thin but sturdy, green or red, leafless flower scapes up to 18 inches tall are sent up from the rosette of leaves. Flower color varies from dark pink or lavender to white. The foliage emerges in spring (L) to form a basal rosette (C) of smooth, wavy, lance-shaped leaves (R). Over time rosettes may offset, with new plants developing slowly. The foliage only persists into summer, with plants going dormant after that. The smooth, lance-shaped leaves up to 6” long and 2½” across are emerald to greyish green, often with a reddish base and with a prominent central vein and smooth margins. It is frequently used as a garden ornamental and received the Royal Horticulture Society’s Award of Garden Merit in 1993.īasal rosettes are produced from a fibrous root system in early spring. This ephemeral spring wildflower from central and eastern US (southern Wisconsin to western Pennsylvania and south to eastern Texas and Georgia) is generally found growing in moist meadows, prairies, and open woods in zones 4-8. meadia are said to resemble shooting stars. meadia (sometimes classified as Primula meadia), variously called shooting star, eastern shooting star, American cowslip, roosterheads, or prairie pointers. There are over a dozen species in the genus Dodecatheon, all native to North America. Michael Arbenz’s Sheherazade is a fittingly compelling tale of talkative tabla figures and pithy solos, and Lähns’ Pastorale is a spine-tinglingly evocative display of bowed-bass expressiveness, while Ballad of the Monkeys shows just how hard this refined band can rock.Shooting stars are a group of herbaceous perennials in the primula family (Primulaceae). There are stealthily spacious meditations such as Poeme de Nuit, and snappy drum-like flyers where the intensity almost tips into free-jazz (In Medias Res). All the pieces are originals but tweak familiar structures, such as the Prelude that opens as a thoughtful, slow-zigzagging solo piano melody, reiterated by Lähns’ gracefully pliable bass phrasing and developed with the cool animation of a classic Bill Evans trio. Pianist Michael Arbenz, his drummer brother Florian and bassist Thomas Lähns reaffirm that, even in such a potentially circumspect context as this venture, celebrating the classical backgrounds they share. T he Swiss piano trio Vein can veer toward being too flawlessly polished for their own jazz good, but as they’ve shown in partnerships with improvising stars such as American saxophonist David Liebman and Greg Osby their work has fire as well as flair.
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