Summary ³

Liatris ligulistylis, common name Rocky Mountain blazing star, is a flowering plant of the Asteraceae family. Leaves are basal and mostly alternate, linear and sessile nearer the top of the plant, while oblanceolate with petioles nearer the bottom, all with whitish midribs. Flowers are arranged in a loose raceme on the upper stem, with rounded pinkish purple flower heads, each with 30-100 five-lobed, tubular flowers per head. Each flower has a long, thread-like, divided style

Description ⁴

Family:
Asteraceae (Aster)

Height:
1 to 3½ feet

Leaves:
Leaves (3-10” long, up to 1½” wide) are toothless, sparsely hairy, and narrow at the base, widening to an oval shape with a pointed tip. Stems are often reddish-purple in color.

Flower:
Button-like, magenta flowerheads (up to 1” across) grow in a loose raceme at the top of the plant, held by stalks (¼-1” long) which grow shorter as they ascend the stem. Flowerheads bloom from the top down. Each plant has between 1 and 40 flowerheads, each containing 30-100 tiny, star-shaped flowers with stringy, protruding styles.

Bloom time:
August-September

Nicknames:
Meadow Blazing Star, Rocky Mountain Blazing Star, Northern Plains Gayfeather, Meadow Gayfeather, Rocky Mountain Gayfeather

Habitat:
Northern Plains Blazing Star prefers full sun, and moist to well-drained, somewhat fertile soils. It is commonly found in prairies, meadows, streambanks, clearings, ditches, and along roadsides.

Wildlife Benefits:
Flowers are attractive to hummingbirds and many species of butterflies, especially Monarchs. Seeds are a late-season food source for goldfinches.

Can I plant this in my garden?
This attractive, Monarch-friendly species does well in most sunny, somewhat fertile areas. It is an excellent addition to any native, pollinator, or ornamental planting.

References:
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/northern-plains-blazing-star
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/liatris-ligulistylis/
https://www.prairienursery.com/meadow-blazingstar-liatris-ligulistylis.html

Range ⁴

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, all rights reserved, uploaded by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District
2. (c) Corey Lange, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Corey Lange
3. Adapted by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liatris_ligulistylis
4. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNaturalistAU taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online

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