common starlily

The common starlily is a small herbaceous plant reaching just 5 to 10 centimeters (2 to 4 in) in height. Plants consist of a stemless tuft of narrow, hairless, grass-like leaves that may reach 10–20 cm (4–8 in) in length and just 2–8 millimeters in width. The edges of the leaves are slightly white in color and they have a U-shaped cross section. The base of each leaf tuft is surrounded by a membranous sheath. Underground the plant has a short caudex, also called a crown, that is usually about 5 cm (2 in) under the soil surface. The roots resemble fleshy strings growing out from a central point and are light gray to tan in color. They are geophytes, a plant that avoids unfavorable conditions by dying back to their fleshy roots for most of the year, with its leaves disappearing by early summer. Starlily is one of the best known early spring Rocky Mountain wildflowers. Its flowers are stemless, like the leaves, but grow from an underground umbel-like flower stalk. There are often four to eight snowy white flowers per cluster each with six tepals, three nearly identical petals and sepals with a narrow pointed shape that spreads outward to resemble a star. The flowers are of a translucent or crystalline character rather than waxy and the thin tepals glisten in sunlight. …

Starlily grows across much of the western United States with a range that estimated at between 200,000–2,500,000 square kilometers (77,000–965,000 sq mi). The eastern part of its range stretches from North Dakota to New Mexico in the shortgrass prairie. In North Dakota it is only recorded in two southwestern counties by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS database (PLANTS), but grows through much of the southern two-thirds of Montana and even as far north as Flathead County. In Wyoming it mostly grows in the eastern half of the state, but also grows in Park County in the northwest. In South Dakota it grows only in the westernmost portion of the state as is the case in neighboring Nebraska. In Colorado it grows in the majority of the eastern plains, but also in some of the mountain and western counties. In New Mexico they are only found in a few areas in the northern part of the state. The western part of the starlily's range crosses the Rocky Mountains and extends across much of the Great Basin and into the surrounding Intermountain West. In Arizona according to PLANTS it is only found in Mohave County. It is also limited to just four counties in southern Utah and the same number in southwestern Idaho. However, it grows in almost all of Nevada and large parts of Oregon east of the Cascades as well as Josephine County. …

Common starlily is a minor food source, less than 1% in one study, for the eastern deer mouse on the prairies of Colorado. The North American little black ant visits the flowers to collect pollen and the flowers are also visted by honey bees. The blister beetle Epicauta parvula has been observed eating the flower petals and leaves and the grasshopper Spharagemon equale eats the leaves as well. As a caterpillar, the generalist white-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata) sometimes eats the leaves. Though it is not a major component of grasslands, grazing cattle show a moderate preference for its leaves. Like cool-season grasses and sedges it is found in higher numbers on rangelands that are grazed at low intensities rather than at high intensities. In contrast, in an experiment with captive pronghorns they only consumed trace amounts of starlily when available. The disease causing rust species Puccinia sporoboli infects starlilies.

One of the Northern Paiute people interviewed at the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in about 1940 reported using the roots ground to a soapy texture to heal sores or swellings. In 1890 the botanist J.W. Blankinship recorded that the Crow people of Montana would eat the roots.

The wildflower writer Claude A. Barr reports that, though starlilies do require a well drained soil, they do not need an entirely sandy soil as their name suggests. He recorded them performing best in firm clay, sandy clay loam, or gravelly clay that is low in organic matter. Other writers report good results growing plants in well drained sandy or gravelly loam that is warm and only slightly rich in full sun, though requiring dry conditions. The critical period for the plants is from their dormancy in the late spring until they begin growing in the late winter, with excessive rain during the summer or fall being detrimental to plants. They cannot compete with other taller garden plants. Their leaves disappear soon after their flowers and so annuals or plants that leaf out later are planted with them. Fall is the least damaging time for moving dormant plants. A starlily that has been moved or divided will usually not bloom in the next year or perhaps even the year after. The Colorado State University Extension service rates this as one of the least flammable native plants, suitable for landscaping around homes and structures in wildland–urban interface areas.