Liatris pycnostachya |
Liatris laevigata |
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cat-tail gayfeather, prairie blazing star, prairie gayfeather, thick-spike blazing star |
clusterleaf gayfeather, shortleaf blazing star |
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Habit | Plants (40–)60–120(–180) cm. | Plants 40–180 cm. | ||||
Stems | glabrous or densely piloso-puberulent. |
glabrous. |
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Leaves | basal and proximal cauline 3–5-nerved, linear to narrowly oblanceolate or oblanceolate, 110–220 × 4–10(–12) mm, gradually then abruptly reduced distally (bractlike proximal to heads), essentially glabrous or sparsely pilose to densely piloso-puberulent, weakly gland-dotted (bases of basal usually fibrous-persistent). |
basal and proximal cauline (mostly arising from congested nodes) 1-nerved, lance-linear to linear, 100–380 × (1–)2–6(–9) mm, abruptly reduced distally, glabrous (minutely white-dotted by stomates), weakly, if at all, gland-dotted (glandular hairs usually not evident). |
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Peduncles | usually 0, rarely (spreading to ascending) 1–2 mm. |
(ascending) 1–7 mm. |
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Involucres | campanulate-cylindric, 7–9(–10) × 3.5–5 mm. |
turbinate-campanulate, 5–7 × 4–5 mm. |
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Florets | (4–)5–8; corolla tubes glabrous inside. |
3–5; corolla tubes glabrous inside. |
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Phyllaries | (reflexed or curving-spreading) in 4–5 series, oblong-lanceolate, unequal, essentially glabrous or ± pilose, margins with hyaline borders, sometimes ciliate, apices usually acute to acute-acuminate (sometimes distally dilated, nearly petaloid). |
in 2–3(–4) series, lanceolate to oblong or elliptic-oblong, unequal, essentially glabrous, margins with hyaline borders, apices usually rounded-retuse and minutely involute-cuspidate to apiculate. |
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Heads | in dense, spiciform arrays. |
in compact, racemiform arrays. |
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Cypselae | 3.8–4.5(–5) mm; pappi: lengths ± equaling corollas, bristles barbellate. |
2.5–4 mm; pappi: lengths ± equaling corollas, bristles barbellate. |
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Corms | globose, sometimes becoming elongate rhizomes. |
globose. |
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Liatris pycnostachya |
Liatris laevigata |
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Phenology | Flowering Aug–Oct(–Nov). | |||||
Habitat | Sand ridges and flats, roadsides, pine woods, sand pine-scrub, longleaf pine-scrub oak | |||||
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
AR; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MI; MN; MO; MS; ND; NE; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SD; TX; WI
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FL; GA
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
R. P. Wunderlin (1998) treated Liatris laevigata and L. tenuifolia as varieties in one species; A. Cronquist (1980, p. 207) also treated them within one species, as “two well-marked but wholly confluent geographic vars.” They have been noted to grow intermixed in Osceola County, Florida (L. laevigata, Ray et al. 10472, NCU; L. tenuifolia, Ray et al. 10423, NCU). Unequivocal intermediates have not been seen in the present study. With the observation of consistent morphologic differences in habit, vestiture, and leaf punctation, and their broad sympatry in Florida, it seems appropriate to recognize them at specific rank. Liatris laevigata is restricted to peninsular Florida and immediately adjacent Georgia (e.g., Floyd’s Island, Charlton County, Cypert 240, SMU). Leaf width is markedly variable, and collections of narrow-leaved forms sometimes have been identified as L. tenuifolia. Narrow-leaved forms of L. laevigata apparently are more common in southern Florida (Collier, Dade, Glades, Lee, Monroe, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and Polk counties). Broader-leaved plants apparently tend to have larger corms, which may be related to age or habitat. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 21. | FNA vol. 21, p. 526. | ||||
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Eupatorieae > Liatris | Asteraceae > tribe Eupatorieae > Liatris | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Lacinaria pycnostachya | Lacinaria laevigata, L. tenuifolia var. laevigata, L. tenuifolia var. quadriflora | ||||
Name authority | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 91. (1803) | Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 285. (1840) | ||||
Web links |