Liatris
Encyclopedia
Liatris is a genus of ornamental plant
s in the Asteraceae
family, native to North America
, Mexico
, and the Bahamas
. These plants are used as a popular summer flowers for bouquet
s.
They are perennials, surviving the winter in the form of corm
s.
Liatris species are used as food plants by the larva
e of some Lepidoptera
species including Schinia gloriosa
, Schinia sanguinea
(both of which feed exclusively on the genus), Schinia tertia
and Schinia trifascia
.
of the aster family. Like other members of this tribe, the flower heads have disc florets and no ray florets. Liatris is in the subtribe Liatrinae along with, for example, Trilisa
and Carphephorus
.
Liatris is closely related to Garberia
from Florida
, but can be distinguished because the latter is a shrub
and has a different karyotype
.
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
s in the Asteraceae
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
family, native to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and the Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
. These plants are used as a popular summer flowers for bouquet
Flower bouquet
A flower bouquet is a collection of flowers in a creative arrangement. There are different kinds including nosegay, crescent, and cascading bouquets. Flower bouquets are often given for special occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries. They are also used extensively in weddings. Traditionally...
s.
They are perennials, surviving the winter in the form of corm
Corm
A corm is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat ....
s.
Liatris species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species including Schinia gloriosa
Schinia
Schinia, commonly called Flower Moths, is a large genus of moths belonging to the family Noctuidae. The genus has a Holarctic distribution with the vast majority of species being found in North America, many with a very restricted range and larval food plant.-Species Information and Food Plants:...
, Schinia sanguinea
Schinia
Schinia, commonly called Flower Moths, is a large genus of moths belonging to the family Noctuidae. The genus has a Holarctic distribution with the vast majority of species being found in North America, many with a very restricted range and larval food plant.-Species Information and Food Plants:...
(both of which feed exclusively on the genus), Schinia tertia
Schinia
Schinia, commonly called Flower Moths, is a large genus of moths belonging to the family Noctuidae. The genus has a Holarctic distribution with the vast majority of species being found in North America, many with a very restricted range and larval food plant.-Species Information and Food Plants:...
and Schinia trifascia
Schinia
Schinia, commonly called Flower Moths, is a large genus of moths belonging to the family Noctuidae. The genus has a Holarctic distribution with the vast majority of species being found in North America, many with a very restricted range and larval food plant.-Species Information and Food Plants:...
.
Classification
Liatris is in the tribe EupatorieaeEupatorieae
Eupatorieae is a tribe of over 2000 species of plants in the aster family. Most of the species are native to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate areas of the Americas, but some are found elsewhere...
of the aster family. Like other members of this tribe, the flower heads have disc florets and no ray florets. Liatris is in the subtribe Liatrinae along with, for example, Trilisa
Trilisa
Trilisa is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family. Some taxonomists group Trilisa together with Litrisa into a single genus Carphephorus....
and Carphephorus
Carphephorus
Carphephorus is a genus of seven herbaceous perennials native to the southeastern United States. They flower in late summer to fall.- Classification :...
.
Liatris is closely related to Garberia
Garberia
Garberia is a shrub native to Florida. It grows in dry areas with sandy soils which do not contain much organic matter. It mostly flowers in the late fall, but can flower year round.- Classification :...
from Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, but can be distinguished because the latter is a shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
and has a different karyotype
Karyotype
A karyotype is the number and appearance of chromosomes in the nucleus of an eukaryotic cell. The term is also used for the complete set of chromosomes in a species, or an individual organism.p28...
.
Species
There are 37 species of Liatris. A partial list is:- Liatris acidotaLiatris acidotaLiatris acidota, also known as the Gulf Coast gayfeather and sharp gayfeather, is a plant species in the aster family Asteraceae and genus Liatris. It is native to Louisiana and Texas in the United States, where it is found in habitats that include coastal prairies, dry prairie and savanna,...
- Liatris aestivalisLiatris aestivalisLiatris aestivalis, also known as the Summer gayfeather, is a plant species in the aster family Asteraceae and genus Liatris. It is native to Oklahoma and Texas in the United States, where it is found in habitats that range from limestone outcrops to slopes and bases of slopes with shallow soils.It...
- Liatris asperaLiatris asperaLiatris aspera also known as the lacerate, rough, tall or prairie blazing star is a wildflower that is found the mid to eastern United States in habitats that range from mesic to dry prairie and dry savanna....
– rough gayfeather - Liatris bracteataLiatris bracteataLiatris bracteata, commonly known as the South Texas gayfeather, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is native to Texas in the United States, where it is found in coastal prairies, roadsides, and along railroads with clay or sandy loam soils...
- Liatris chapmaniiLiatris chapmaniiLiatris chapmanii, also known as Chapman’s gayfeather, is a plant species in the aster family Asteraceae and genus Liatris. It is native to Alabama, Florida and Georgia in the United States, where it is found in habitats such as dunes, beach strands, sand ridges, fields and roadsides, it also...
- Liatris cokeriLiatris cokeriLiatris cokeri, also known as Coker's gayfeather and Sandhills blazing star, is a plant species in the aster family Asteraceae and genus Liatris. It is native to North and South Carolina in the United States, where it is found in habitats such as sand ridges and sandy fields to roadsides; it is...
- Liatris compactaLiatris compactaLiatris compacta, sometimes called Arkansas gayfeather, is a herbaceous plant species in the aster family Asteraceae and genus Liatris. It is native to west-central Arkansas in the United States, where it is found growing in habitats such as rocky ridges, bluffs, hillsides, weathered sandstone, and...
- Liatris cylindraceaLiatris cylindraceaLiatris cylindracea, also known as Barrelhead gayfeather, Cylindrical blazing star, or Ontario blazing star, is a plant species in the aster family Asteraceae and genus Liatris. It is native to north eastern and central North America, where it is found in habitats such as prairies, limestone and...
– Ontario blazing star - Liatris cymosaLiatris cymosaLiatris cymosa, also known as Aggie-land gayfeather or branched blazing star, is a plant species in the aster family Asteraceae and genus Liatris. It is native to east central Texas in North America, where it is found in habitats such as post oak woodlands, fields, fence rows, woodland openings...
- Liatris elegansLiatris elegansLiatris elegans, also known as pinkscale gayfeather or elegant gayfeather , is a plant species in the aster family Asteraceae and genus Liatris.-Distribution:...
– pinkscale blazing star - Liatris elegantula
- Liatris garberi
- Liatris gholsonii
- Liatris glandulosa
- Liatris gracilis
- Liatris graminifolia – grass-leafed blazing star
- Liatris helleriLiatris helleriLiatris helleri is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Heller's blazing star and Heller's gayfeather. It is endemic to North Carolina in the United States, where it occurs only in the Blue Ridge Mountains...
- Liatris hirsuta
- Liatris laevigata
- Liatris lancifolia
- Liatris ligulistylis – meadow blazing star
- Liatris microcephala – dwarf gayfeather
- Liatris odoratissima – deerstongue
- Liatris ohlingeraeLiatris ohlingeraeLiatris ohlingerae is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Florida blazing star, Florida gayfeather, scrub blazing star, and sandtorch. It is endemic to Florida in the United States, where it occurs only on the Lake Wales Ridge along with many other rare...
- Liatris oligocephalaLiatris oligocephalaLiatris oligocephala is a flowering plant in the genus Liatris . Its native range is very small, with all known populations being within Bibb County, Alabama, and therefore the species is of conservation concern. It hybridizes with the much more common Liatris cylindracea although the offspring...
- Liatris patens
- Liatris pauciflora
- Liatris pilosa
- Liatris provincialis
- Liatris punctataLiatris punctataLiatris punctata is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names dotted gayfeather, dotted blazingstar, and narrow-leaved blazingstar. It is native to North America, where it occurs throughout the plains of central Canada, the central United States, and northern...
– dotted blazing star - Liatris pycnostachyaLiatris pycnostachyaLiatris pycnostachya is an ornamental plant native to the tallgrass prairies of the Midwestern United States.-External links:*...
– prairie blazing star - Liatris savannensis
- Liatris scariosa
- L. scariosa var. novae-angliae – New England blazing star
- L. scariosa var. nieuwlandii – Nieuwland's blazing star
- Liatris spicataLiatris spicataLiatris spicata, the dense blazing star or prairie gay feather, is an herbaceous perennial plant native throughout most of eastern North America....
– dense blazing star - Liatris squarrosa – Earl's blazing star
- Liatris squarrulosa – southern blazing star
- Liatris tenuifolia – Florida blazing star
- Liatris tenuis
- Liatris virgata