Prairie
Blazing Star Liatris
phycntochya
Other Name: Tall
Gayfeather
Description:
Tall Gayfeather is a native, warm-season perennial belonging to the
Composite, or aster family. It is a long lived plant with reaching a height of
1.5 meters. Its thick, extensive root system penetrates to over 15 feet, making
it quite drought resistant.
Leaf: Short
hairs exist on both the stems and leaves so that the entire plant has a stiff,
harsh look. The leaves are narrow or linear and are longest at the lower end of
the plant and are progressively shorter near the flowers.
Flower: It has thickly set bright, rose-purple
starry blossoms with fuzzy, extended white, cattail-like stamens at the top.
The flowers bloom from the top down.
Blooming months: July-September
Stem: Stems have short hairs.
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Discussion:
The Prairie Blazing Star is grazed by livestock. The plant is normally
associated with Big Bluestem, and is conspicuous at a distance. When the
blossoms are collected and dried, they preserve well as an indoor decoration.
The carrot-flavored roots were used as food by Native Americans.
Distribution:
This species grows in lowland prairies. Prairie Blazing Star ranges from
Native
or Introduced to
Location:
N41048.677’ W089040.972’
Copyright:
© 2004 Nancy Trainor,
References:
Keller, Carolyn. Prairie Plants of
Ladd, Doug. Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers, The Nature Conservancy, 1995.
Peterson, Roger Tory. Wildflowers
Northeastern/North Central
Mohlenbroch, Robert H., and John W. Voigt. Prairie Plants
of
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