Do you know about the Desert Shooting Star (Dodecatheon conjugens)? The word dodecatheon means ‘twelve gods’ in Latin. This wildflower, which prefers sunny, dry soil, blooms during the same part of the season as the Arrowleaf Balsamroot and the Desert Buttercup. Desert Shooting Stars do not produce nectar, but pollination is accomplished by bumblebees foraging for pollen through a method known as “buzz pollination.” A bumblebee arrives at the flower, grasps the fused anthers with its feet, and hangs upside down. Then, it buzzes its wings at a specific frequency, causing the anthers to vibrate, showering pollen onto the bee’s thorax.
