By Dr. F. Alice LeDuc
Dipterostemon capitatus – Blue Dicks, Purplehead, Brodiaea and Dichelostemma congestum – Fork-toothed Ookow and Dichelotemma multiflorus – Rounded-toothed Ookow
These three species look very much alike. In fact they were all once in the same genus first called Brodiaea then the first species was transferred to its own genus Dipterostemon then transferred to the genus Dichelostemma with the second two species then back to Dipertostemon again there by itself.
Why so many name changes? I know they frustrate many people as they learn about or study the native wildflowers. The bottom line is that botanists are always studying and learning more about the many flowering plants as well as all flora and fauna. A lot of changes have happened in the last 35 years as a result of our increased knowledge of DNA the genetic material found in all living things.
As botanists have analyzed the genetic material of plants, they have discovered that our knowledge of plants based on morphological characteristics we can see with the naked eye and the dissecting microscope is just the beginning. Today we can analyze the genetic material and discover the relationships of plant species to one another.
If we look at Dipterostemon (Blue-dicks) and Dichelostemma (Ookows) they look a lot alike. But if you look closer at the flowers one can see that Dipterostemon flowers have six stamens and Dichelostemma flowers have three stamens. These characters along with genetic analysis are justifying that the Blue-dicks belong separate from Ookows. Though, not fully confirmed I believe the justification is right for the separate genus. As a side bar I want you to know that I had only the photographs to look at so there is a possibility that one or other of the Dichelostemma photos are miss identified. It is hard to see the perianth structures and the amount of constriction of the flowers above the ovary. D. congestum has perianth structures deeply pinnified into two points or lobes and the tepals are only slightly constricted above the ovary. While D. multiflorum perianth structures have rounded or truncated tips and the tepals are strongly constricted above the ovary.
So, the Blue-dicks are separated by the number of stamens being six and the flowers blooming in mid spring, usually May. While, the two species of Ookows have only three stamens and bloom in early summer starting in June. You are lucky, at least to be able to say that the flower is a Blue-dick if it is blooming in /May. If you find flowers in June or later its going to be an Ookow but you must look really close to see if it is D. congestum or D. multiflorum.
Common names usually are given by the people that live around the plants. I can understand purpleheads but not sure about Blue-dicks. Ookow is, if I must guess, an Anglicanized form of an Indigenous name. All three species of plants were a very important starch source for the Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest. The bulbs were harvested at various times during the growing season. The people carefully dug the “bulbs” treating them in one of several ways. 1. The corms (the correct term for the underground structure not bulb) were dug and the cormlets (baby corms) were removed and replanted. 2. Harvesting the corms after the plant had gone to seed and letting the seeds stay in the soil. 3. They only harvested some plants leaving others to sustain the plant populations. These plants preform much better when the soil is cultivated or dug up during harvest. The Indigenous people managed the plant localities with specific sites maintained by family groups that returned every year to harvest.
The habitat of these species are meadows, scrub and open woodlands. They are known as a post-fire recolonizer. So, in managing the plant sites the people were helping sustain the native habitats of the species. The importance of the starch food source was not just used humans but by several types of wildlife such as black bears, mule deer, rabbits and pocket gophers.
Enjoy these striking wildflowers in spring and early summer where every you travel or you can purchase bulbs to add to your own garden areas.
