Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae
Liatris spicata
Conservation status
Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
Clade:
Tracheophytes
Clade:
Angiosperms
Clade:
Eudicots
Clade:
Asterids
Order:
Asterales
Family:
Asteraceae
Genus:
Liatris
Species:
L. spicata
Binomial name
Liatris spicata
(L.) Willd.
Liatris spicata - MHNT
Liatris spicata, the dense blazing star, prairie feather, gayfeather[1] or button snakewort,[2] is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to eastern North America[3] where it grows in moist prairies and sedge meadows.
The plants have tall spikes of purple flowers resembling bottle brushes or feathers that grow 1–5 ft (0.30–1.52 m) tall. The species grows in hardiness zones 3 - 8,[4] stretching from the Midwest to the East Coast, eastern and western Canada.[3]
Common varieties include 'Alba' and 'Floristan White' which are white-flowering cultivars[5] on 18 in (46 cm) tall spikes, 'Callilepsis' with long stems good for cut flowers, 'Floristan Violett' with a strong stem and thick, violet flower spikes preferred by florists, and 'Kobold' which stays small in size with deep purple flowers.[6]
Liatris spicata var. resinosa is found in the southern part of the species's natural range.[7] The variable plants have only 5 or 6 flowers per head and the heads are more widely spaced on the stems; these differences are more pronounced when the plants are found in drier and coastal habitats.[8]
^"Liatris spicata". Gardenia.net. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
^"Liatris spicata". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
^ abUSDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Liatris spicata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team.
^Perry, Leonard. "Liatris". University of Vermont.
^Mahr, Susan (2010). "Wisconsin Horticulture". Wisconsin Horticulture. University of Wisconsin-Extension. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
^Nesom, Guy L. (2006). "Liatris spicata". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 21. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
^Henry A. Gleason (1963). The New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora of the Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada: Illustrated by Original Drawings. Vol. 3. New York Botanical Garden. p. 498.
Liatrisspicata, the dense blazing star, prairie feather, gayfeather or button snakewort, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae...
bracts distinguishes this species from others, for example Liatrisspicata, another tall Liatris species that has thickly packed spikes, but whose bracts...
petiolata, Erigeron elatior, Penstemon virens, Tetraneuris scaposa, or Liatrisspicata as host plants it had no survival in field plantings after 14 months...
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