Padre's shooting star facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Padre's shooting star |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Primula
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| Species: |
clevelandii
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The Primula clevelandii, also known as the Padre's shooting star, is a beautiful type of primrose flower. It gets its common name "shooting star" because its petals point backward, making the flower look like a meteor shooting across the sky.
The plant's scientific name, clevelandii, was chosen to honor Daniel Cleveland. He was a plant collector and lawyer from San Diego in the 1800s.
Where It Grows
This special plant is native to California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico. You can usually find it growing in open, grassy areas. It loves sunny spots where it has plenty of room to spread out.
What It Looks Like
The Padre's shooting star is a deciduous plant. This means that after the rainy season ends, the plant dies back to the ground. It then waits for the next rains to grow again. It has a cluster of leaves at its base that can grow up to 40 centimeters (about 16 inches) long.
Its pretty flowers come in shades of magenta, deep lavender, or even white. Each flower is about an inch long and hangs downwards, like a bell. These lovely flowers grow on tall stems that can reach up to a foot (about 30 centimeters) in height.
This plant can sometimes mix its genes with another type of shooting star called Primula hendersonii. You can tell the Padre's shooting star apart because it has a green stem.
Different Types
There are a few different kinds, or subspecies, of the Padre's shooting star. These are:
- Primula clevelandii ssp. clevelandii
- Primula clevelandii ssp. gracilis
- Primula clevelandii ssp. insularis
- Primula clevelandii ssp. patula
