Hendersons Shooting Star

Hendersons Shooting Star, Vancouver Island, BC
Hendersons Shooting Star, Vancouver Island, BC, Photo By Bud Logan

Hendersons Shooting Star is a Pacific Northwest native plant that grows on South Vancouver Island as far north as Campbell River on the East side of the Island and Tofino on the west side. It also grows on Washington, Oregon, and northern California coasts.

Henderson’s Shooting Star has a basal rosette and an erect stem. The plant is hairless. The leaves are broadly egg-shaped to nearly round and are plump, 2.5 cm to 5 cm long. The flowers are few to many in a cluster at the top of the stem. The petals are short, round-tipped and the color of magenta with yellow and dark purple-black bands at the white-edged base, the tube is purple to black and pointed at the tip.

The plant becomes dormant by early summer. Grows in open woods, grassy or shady sites, in moist to semi-dry areas, below 2000 m. Henderson’s Shooting Star plants can reach heights of up to 50 cm. They are considered a herb. The flowering stems are shorter than other shooting star species. Henderson’s Shooting Stars flower in April and May. The fruits of Henderson’s Shooting Star are cylindrical to egg-shaped capsules with numerous seeds.

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2 thoughts on “Hendersons Shooting Star”

  1. Hi there. My mother – age 93- remembers a place where you can see fields of shooting stars about 6mi out of victoria, before Colwood tho. There is/was a pub that you went behind to find the path- up a hill, over the top, then a beautiful field of purple shooting stars… any ideas where this might be, if it still exists? Just curious:)
    Thanks!

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