SHOOTING STAR

in botany, any flowering plant of the genus Dodecatheon (family Primulaceae), with about 14 species, mostly native to western North America. Several species are cultivatedoften in rock gardensfor their attractive flowers. The low-growing shooting stars are perennial herbs with wavy-margined leaves growing from the base. The flowers, which are commonly reddish, purple, lilac, pink, or white, grow in a small cluster at the end of a leafless stalk (scope). The five lobes of the corolla (the structure formed by the petals) are turned backward.