Liatris spicata (Linnaeus) Martyn. Common name: Florist's Gayfeather. Phenology: Jun-Aug (-Sep). Habitat: Prairies (calcareous), roadsides, seepages, bogs, grassy balds. Distribution: MA, ON, and MI, south to GA, AL, MS, and AR.
Origin/Endemic status: Native
Taxonomy Comments: Blooming earlier than the coastal L. resinosa, even though occurring inland, more northerly, and at higher elevations.
Synonymy ⓘ: = Liatris spicata (L.) Willd. var. spicata — F, FNA21, G, NE, NY, Pa, RAB, Va, WV; = Liatris spicata (L.) Willd. var. typica Gaiser — Gaiser (1946), Godfrey (1948); < Laciniaria spicata (L.) Kuntze — S; < Liatris spicata (Linnaeus) Martyn — C, Il, Mi, Oh3, SE1, Tat, Tn, W; > Liatris spicata (L.) Willd. var. montana A.Gray; < Liatris spicata (L.) Willd. var. spicata — K4
Links to other floras: = Liatris spicata var. spicata - FNA21
Wetland Indicator Status:
- Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
- Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
- Midwest: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
- Northcentral & Northeast: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
Heliophily ⓘ: 9
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Horticultural Information
Intro: Erect perennial of prairies, roadsides, seepages, bogs, moist to wet meadows and grassy balds.
Stems: Stems stiff, unbranched, usually smooth.
Leaves: Leaves alternate, linear, to 14 in. long (reduced upward), smooth or hairy along mid-vein, sometimes with hairs along margins.
Inforescence:
Flowers: Composite flowers (heads) in a dense terminal spike; heads about 1/3 in. wide, sessile, consisting of 4-14 pink, 5-lobed disk florets surrounded by purple bristles and with 2 style branches protruding. Green bracts tightly cover the cylindric to bell-shaped base of each head.
Fruits: Fruit a cluster of small, tufted achenes.
Comments: L. spicata var. resinosa usually has a smaller number of florets (5-6), and bracts surrounding the base of each head are generally purplish rather than greenish.
Height: 1-4 ft.
plant sale text: Butterflies love Sessile Blazing-star as much as people do. Its showy spikes of purple flowers bloom in midsummer. Full sun is ideal. Sessile Blazing-star is native to coastal savannas and bogs. It thrives in average soil. This southeastern native perennial can easily be grown in a perennial border or as part of a naturalized meadow.The Cherokee tribe used this species for a variety of medicinal purposes.
bloom table text:
description: Erect perennial of prairies, roadsides, seepages, bogs, moist to wet meadows and grassy balds.
stems: Stems stiff, unbranched, usually smooth.
leaves: Leaves alternate, linear, to 14 in. long (reduced upward), smooth or hairy along mid-vein, sometimes with hairs along margins.
inflorescence:
flowers: Composite flowers (heads) in a dense terminal spike; heads about 1/3 in. wide, sessile, consisting of 4-14 pink, 5-lobed disk florets surrounded by purple bristles and with 2 style branches protruding. Green bracts tightly cover the cylindric to bell-shaped base of each head.
fruits: Fruit a cluster of small, tufted achenes.
comments: L. spicata var. resinosa usually has a smaller number of florets (5-6), and bracts surrounding the base of each head are generally purplish rather than greenish.
cultural notes:
germination code:
native range: eastern & central United States