Liatris ligulistylis |
Liatris spicata |
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northern plains gayfeather, Rocky Mountain blazing star, Rocky Mountain gayfeather, strap-style gayfeather |
dense blazing star, florist gayfeather, marsh gayfeather, prairie gay feather, sessile-head blazing star |
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Habit | Plants 20–100 cm. | Plants (20–)40–110(–180) cm. | ||||
Stems | sparsely to densely puberulent, puberulent-villous, or strigoso-puberulent. |
glabrous. |
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Leaves | basal and proximal cauline 1-nerved, narrowly oblanceolate to spatulate-lanceolate, 90–150(–220) × 4–17(–24) mm, gradually reduced distally to near midstem, then abruptly reduced, linear or narrowly lanceolate, ascending to nearly erect, bractlike, sparsely to densely puberulent, ± gland-dotted. |
basal and lower cauline 3–5-nerved, narrowly oblong-lanceolate to narrowly spatulate-oblanceolate, 120–350 × (2–)4–10(–20) mm (sometimes becoming more densely arranged distally), usually gradually reduced distally, essentially glabrous or sparsely villous, weakly gland-dotted (glandular hairs often not evident, bases of basal often fibrous-persistent). |
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Peduncles | usually (5–)8–15(–30) mm. |
usually 0, rarely 1–2 mm. |
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Involucres | campanulate to turbinate-campanulate, 10–15 × 13–18 mm. |
turbinate-cylindric to turbinate-campanulate, 7–11 × 4–6 mm. |
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Florets | 30–70; corolla tubes glabrous inside. |
(4–)5–8(–14); corolla tubes glabrous inside. |
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Phyllaries | in (3–)4–5 series, oblong-obovate to oblong-spatulate, strongly unequal, essentially glabrous, margins with (purple) hyaline borders, erose to lacerate or irregular, apices broadly rounded to truncate. |
in (3–)4–5 series, ovate to oblong, unequal, essentially glabrous, margins with hyaline borders, sometimes ciliolate, apices rounded to obtuse. |
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Heads | (4–21) in open, racemiform arrays (terminal heads sometimes maturing first and larger). |
in dense to loose, spiciform arrays. |
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Cypselae | 5–7 mm; pappi: lengths ± equaling corollas, bristles barbellate. |
(3.5–)4.5–6 mm; pappi: lengths ± equaling corollas, bristles barbellate. |
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Corms | subglobose (often knotty, densely fibrous-rooted). |
globose to slightly elongate. |
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2n | = 20. |
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Liatris ligulistylis |
Liatris spicata |
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Phenology | Flowering Jul–Oct. | |||||
Habitat | Prairies (often wet), pine barrens, clearings in aspen and pine woods, ridges along lake shores, depressions in granite, rocky slopes, roadsides, ditches, along railroads, sand, clay | |||||
Elevation | 100–2400 m (300–7900 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
CO; IA; MN; MT; ND; NM; SD; WI; WY; AB; MB; SK
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AL; AR; CT; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OH; PA; SC; TN; VA; WI; WV; ON; QC
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Liatris spicata is sold as cut flowers. It also is commonly sold as a garden plant in various genetic permutations (probably derived from var. spicata, perhaps from L. lancifolia) and it apparently escapes cultivation. Reports from Arkansas, Connecticut, and Quebec probably reflect plants growing in or escaped from gardens. A geographic disjunction within Liatris spicata occurs between the coastal plain element (var. resinosa) and the inland/montane element (var. spicata), although plants morphologically referable to var. resinosa occasionally are encountered in montane North Carolina and Tennessee and var. spicata-like plants occur in the range of var. resinosa. Apparent intergrades between the two taxa are common, especially in Tennessee and Alabama. The geographical gap is widest in Georgia and Alabama. Neither variety occurs naturally west of the Mississippi River, except for a historical record of var. spicata in Oregon County, Missouri (Kellogg s.n., MO), where the population has now been genetically “swamped” by L. pycnostachya (G. A. Yatskievych, pers. comm.). In both var. spicata and var. resinosa, marked variation (dimorphism) in head size occurs, the large-headed plants apparently occurring in scattered geographic enclaves without a broader geographic pattern. It seems possible that independent populational origins of polyploidy might underlie the variation. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 21, p. 531. | FNA vol. 21, p. 523. | ||||
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Eupatorieae > Liatris | Asteraceae > tribe Eupatorieae > Liatris | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Lacinaria ligulistylis | Serratula spicata, Lacinaria spicata | ||||
Name authority | (A. Nelson) K. Schumann: Just’s Bot. Jahresber. 29(1): 569. (1903) | (Linnaeus) Willdenow: Sp. Pl. 3: 1636. (1803) | ||||
Web links |