How to tell Blue Dicks from Ookow
by Bruce Homer-Smith

Blue Dicks and Ookow look similar – they both have a tight head of 6-petaled trumpet flowers at the top of an erect-but-twisting stem.

However, they’re different in several ways: 

Bloom time

Blue Dicks	Ookow
February to April	April to June

Where found

Blue Dicks	Ookow
Widely distributed in California. Found in a variety of dry and wet habitats	Northern California Found mostly in meadows and open places.

Different appearances (see pictures below)

Blue Dicks	Ookow
Can be violet, pink or white	Almost always violet.
Six stamens, of two sizes Filament sheaths are forked, white when fresh, and form a tight crown around the yellow-tipped stamens. They fade to pale blue.	Three stamens.  Filament sheaths are forked, always pale blue, and stand away from the stamens.
All flowers connect to the same point, forming a dense head.	Short ¼” stalks connect flowers in a congested area, but more open than with Blue Dicks.
Each flower’s trumpet has straight edges.	Each flower’s trumpet narrows near where the petals separate.
Bracts below the flowers are dark purple.	Bracts below the flowers are greenish to pale purple.

Illustrations

Differences in stamens and filament sheaths

Blue Dicks have six

Photo © Neal Kramer

White, forked filament sheaths form a tight crown surrounding the reproductive parts.

Inside are six yellow-tipped stamens.

As the flower ages, the filament sheaths fade to pale purple, but if you see a white filament sheath, you’ll know it’s Blue Dicks.

Ookow has threes

Photo CC NC Keir Morse
Fork-toothed Ookow has three stamens. As with Blue Dicks, the stamens are protected by forked filament sheaths, but the sheaths are always pale blue and do not tightly surround the stamens.

Differences in flower stalk (pedicel) length

Blue Dicks has almost no pedicels (flower stalks)

Photo CC NC Steve Matson
There are several flowers in this photo. Each is joined tightly together at a central point.  Each flower’s stalk (pedicel) is only about 1/25” (1mm). The bract surrounding the flower is deep purple.

Ookow has ¼” pedicels (flower stalks)

Photo CC NC Judy Mason
In this Ookow, each flower is connected with a ¼” pedicel, giving the inflorescence a somewhat more open look.

Ookow has a waist

Photo CC NC Toni Corelli
Each Ookow flower constricts just above where it covers the ovary. Blue Dicks doesn’t have a waist.

Ookow internal view

Photo © Richard Haard (rchaard@me.com)
Here is a picture of an Ookow, carefully opened up, showing all its parts. Forked filament sheaths are structurally part of the petals.

Blue Dicks internal view

Photo © Michael Simpson 2020, Orange County, CA. (msimpson@sdsu.edu)

Here is a detailed picture of a Blue Dicks. Notice that the larger stamens, growing inside the inner whorl of petals, have forked filament sheaths that are white until they wilt. All six stamens have anthers full of pollen.

Now you’ve got something to look for when you see these beauties in the field. Have fun!

Corrections/Comments: bruce@PlantID.net Copyright: https://PlantID.net/Contributors.aspx