Henderson’s Shooting Star

Henderson’s shooting star is a spring-blooming perennial native to grasslands, oak woodlands, and open forests of the Pacific Northwest and California. Emerging early in the season, it forms basal rosettes of smooth, lance-shaped leaves and sends up slender stalks topped with striking flowers that resemble shooting stars—reflexed magenta to pink petals and a dark, pointed center. It completes its life cycle quickly, going dormant by early summer as soils dry. Ecologically, Henderson’s shooting star provides an important early nectar source for native pollinators, especially bees, and adds vibrant bursts of color to spring wildflower communities in upland habitats.