''Liatris bracteata'', commonly known as the bracted blazing star, or South Texas gayfeather, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

. It is native to Texas in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where it is found in coastal prairies, roadsides, and along railroads with clay or sandy loam soils. This species is of conservation concern in its native range due to habitat loss.

Description

''Liatris bracteata'' grows from rounded corms that produce hairless, tall stems. The flowers are in loose heads that are widely spaced from each other on the stem. The heads have no stems (sessile) and are arranged in a spike-like collection. The foliage is dotted with glands and the basal and cauline leaves have one nerve and are linear in shape. The seeds are produced in

cypselae Asteraceae () is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger fam ...

(a type of fruit) that are long. The fruits have feathery bristles attached at the top. ''Liatris bracteata'' flowers in September to November.

Taxonomy

''Liatris bracteata'' might be a variety of ''

Liatris punctata ''Liatris punctata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae 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 ...

'', with the morphological differences primarily in the number of florets per flower head. It is genetically a hexaploid, while populations of ''L. punctata'' are diploid and tetraploid.

References

bracteata Flora of Texas Flora of Northern America {{Eupatorieae-stub