Outdoor Hour Challenge
Shooting Star Wildflower Study
From the Wildflower Nature Study Set #1
Inside Preparation:
¨ Look up and read about this beautiful showy flower in preparation for your outdoor time. Make sure to share images of the flower with your children so they know what they are hunting for. Look for shooting stars any time between April and August depending on the variety you have in your local area.
¨ The flowers look like rockets atop a long erect stalk growing from a basal cluster of leaves.
¨ Few-Flowered Shooting Star (Dodecatheon pulchellum) See the range: USDA.
¨ Alpine Shooting Star (Dodecatheon alpinum) See the range: USDA.
¨ Sierra Shooting Star (Dodecatheon jeffreyi) See the range: USDA.
¨ Eastern Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia) See the range: USDA.
¨ You may wish to watch most of this video that features shooting stars: Shooting Stars.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Look in sunny grasslands and shady woods.
¨ The shooting star’s unique dart shape and coloring should make it easy to identify. Look for a rosette of leaves at the base, a smooth stem, and then a cluster (or umbel) of flowers at the top.
Follow-Up Activity:
Note: Ebook users can find custom notebook pages to use for the shooting star flower and the primrose family.
- Create a notebook page for the shooting star and be sure to include a sketch with the flower parts clearly labeled. Record the date and location of your shooting star for future reference.
- Start a primrose family notebook page. Keep a running list over time of the flowers you observe and/or study in this plant family.
- Advanced study: Learn how the Shooting star flower is pollinated. Also, sketch the life cycle of the plant in your nature journal.
- Advanced study: The genus name dodecatheon means “twelve gods”. Research to find out why they chose this genus name.
How do you get the new Wildflower Nature Study ebook?
Members of the Ultimate Naturalist and Journey levels have access to the new ebook in their library. You need to click the “Members Area” button at the top of the website, sign into your account, and the ebook is there to download and save for your family to use when desired. If you don’t have a membership yet, I am offering a $5 off discount code that will be good towards your Ultimate Naturalist membership.