Liatris pycnostachya
Liatris provincialis
cat-tail gayfeather, prairie blazing star, prairie gayfeather, thick-spike blazing star
Godfrey's blazing star, Godfrey's gayfeather
glabrous or densely piloso-puberulent.
hirtellous.
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 1-nerved, linear-oblanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, 60–150 × 2–6 mm, abruptly reduced, linear, 1–2 mm wide, then gradually or little reduced distally, essentially glabrous or hirtellous (sometimes mostly along abaxial midveins), gland-dotted.
usually 0, rarely (spreading to ascending) 1–2 mm.
0.
campanulate-cylindric, 7–9(–10) × 3.5–5 mm.
cylindric, 9–11 × 3–5 mm.
(4–)5–8;
corolla tubes glabrous inside.
3–4;
corolla tubes glabrous inside.
(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 3–4(–5) series, oblong-obovate to oblong or oblong-lanceolate, strongly unequal, glabrous, sparsely puberulent, or hirtellous, margins with hyaline borders, ciliolate, apices acute to acuminate (mid often cuspidate).
in dense, spiciform arrays.
in dense, spiciform arrays (spreading to ascending, not strongly overlapping).
3.8–4.5(–5) mm;
pappi: lengths ± equaling corollas, bristles barbellate.
4–5.5 mm;
pappi: lengths ± equaling corollas, bristles barbellate.
globose, sometimes becoming elongate rhizomes.
globose to elongate.
Liatris pycnostachya
Liatris provincialis
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Of conservation concern.
Liatris provincialis is very similar to L. chapmanii and apparently restricted to coastal and near-coastal sites in panhandle of Florida (Franklin and Wakulla counties). Beside the difference in orientation of the heads, phyllaries of L. provincialis are broader (versus gradually and more narrowly lanceolate), often abruptly acute to short-acuminate or cuspidate, but there is little else to distinguish the two. Liatris provincialis is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Corms globose; stems usually glabrous or sparsely pilose except near heads (where sparsely piloso-puberulent); leaves glabrous | var. pycnostachya |
1. Corms globose to elongate; stems moderately to densely piloso-puberulent; leaves moderately to densely piloso-puberulent to nearly glabrous | var. lasiophylla |
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