Flora of North America species comparison

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Liatris punctata var. punctata
Photo is of parent taxon

dotted blazing star
Leaves

10–14 cm, 1–4(–5) mm wide.
Involucres

10–14 mm.
Florets

4–8.
Phyllaries

in 4(–5) series.
Heads

in dense, spiciform arrays (closely spaced, stems usually obscured by heads).
Corms

elongate or becoming rhizomes.
2n

= 20, 40, 60.

Liatris punctata var. punctata
Phenology Flowering Aug–Oct(–Nov).
Habitat Grassy prairies, sagebrush prairies, rocky and gravelly ridges and slopes, roadsides, fencerows, stream banks, over granite, limestone, and sandstone, in sands, clays, gypseous clays
Elevation (50–)100–1900(–2200) m ((200–)300–6200(–7200) ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; IA; IL; KS; MI; MN; MO; MT; ND; NE; NM; OH; OK; SD; TX; WI; WY; AB; MB; SK
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Gaiser distinguished var. punctata (type from Saskatchewan) from var. nebraskana by its thicker, often shorter stems, broader and shorter leaves, leaves and phyllaries with ciliate margins, and phyllaries with lanceolate-acuminate apices. Weak geographic trends exist in these features; variability renders var. nebraskana largely typological and necessitates much arbitrary identification. B. R. Menhusen (1963) also did not find justification for recognizing var. nebraskana. Variation in chromosome number may be associated with some of the apparent polymorphism.

Liatris densispicata was described from sand dunes in Minnesota. It was said to have “an elongate rootstock that runs horizontally in the sand, giving off clusters of aerial stems,” and to differ from L. punctata by “the generally finer and more slender structure of the stem, spike, and leaves” (L. O. Gaiser 1946, p. 363). It was listed as a synonym of L. punctata by G. B. Ownbey and T. Morley (1991).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 21, p. 519.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Eupatorieae > Liatris > Liatris punctata
Sibling taxa
L. punctata var. mexicana, L. punctata var. mucronata
Synonyms Lacinaria arenicola, L. densispicata, L. punctata var. coloradensis, L. punctata var. nebraskana
Name authority unknown
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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