Liatris elegantula (Greene) K. Schum.

Grassleaf Blazing Star; Grassleaf Gayfeather

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Grassleaf Gayfeather is a native herbaceous perennial in the Sunflower family (Asteraceae). It can be found throughout much of Alabama. Grassleaf Gayfeather occurs in Longleaf pine woods, in scrub oak forests, in sandhills, in dry mixed pine-hardwood forests, along the margin of prairies, and on roadside banks. It is a perennial with a globose corm. Each corm produces usually a single unbranched stem up to 3 feet in height. The stem is green in color and glabrous. Leaves are basal and cauline. The leaves are sessile, alternate, linear to oblanceolate in outline, 1-nerved, glabrous, and gland dotted. The leaves are rapidly reduced in size upwards. Flowers are produced in heads. The heads are arranged in racemes. The phyllaries are (except for the lowest few) rounded, glabrous, and have hyaline borders. Each head has 8-11 purple disc flowers and no ray flowers. The fruit is an achene with barbellate bristles. Grassleaf Gayfeather, like other members of the genus, makes an excellent addition to the wildflower garden. Gayfeather’s are also long-lasting cut flowers. This species is not often offered for sale, but can sometimes be found under the older names Liatris graminifolia var. elegantula (Greene) Gaiser. Grassleaf Gayfeather can also be grown from seed. Plants prefer a sunny location with a well-draining soil.--A. Diamond

In earlier regional treatments, this taxon was treated as a variety as L. graminifolia var. elegantula (Greene) Gaiser or more commonly with the misapplied name Liatris pilosa (Aiton) Willd. Liatris pilosa is not known to occur in Alabama despite numerous specimens identified as such, a predictable result based on those earlier treatments. Any specimens below identified as L. pilosa in all likelihood are identifiable with L. elegantula. Each of those specimens should be reevaluated and verified.

Native

Nesom, G.L. and J.M. Stucky. 2004. Taxonomy of the Liatris pilosa (Graminfolia) complex (Asteraceae: Eupatorieae). 21: 815-826.