''Liatris pycnostachya'', the prairie blazing star, cattail gayfeather or cattail blazing star, is a

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

in the

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

family that is native to the tallgrass prairies of the central

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Description

The flower stalks reach in height, or rarely to . The leaves are linear, grass-like, long and wide. They grow both from the root and in great numbers on the flower stems, becoming progressively smaller higher up the stem. The end of the flower stem is covered in a spike of flower heads across that bloom pink to purplish pink for a month in late summer, from the top down. Each flower head has 5 to 8

floret This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

s and is surrounded by overlapping pinkish

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s ( phyllaries) whose tips are pointed and curve backwards. The stems, leaves, and bracts may be smooth or hairy to varying degrees. The shape of the bracts distinguishes this species from others, for example ''

Liatris spicata ''Liatris spicata'', the dense blazing star or prairie feather, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to eastern North America where it grows in moist prairies and sedge meadows. The plants have tall ...

'', another tall ''Liatris'' species that has thickly packed spikes, but whose bracts are flat with rounded tips. The root system is a

corm A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ' ...

that sometimes develops into a

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

. It produces offsets and gradually forms a clump.

Etymology

The species epithet comes from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

() "dense" and () "ear of grain", referring to the thickly packed spike of flowers.

Distribution and habitat

Its native habitats include prairies, open woods, and meadows.

Ecology

The plant attracts birds, hummingbirds, and butterflies. It is a larval host to the

bleeding flower moth The bleeding flower moth (''Schinia sanguinea'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from North Carolina to Florida, west to Texas, north to Montana. There is also a disjunct population in Ontario. ''Schinia carmosina'' was elevated ...

(''Schinia sanguinea'').The Xerces Society (2016), ''Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects'', Timber Press. SeedsLiatrispycnostachya

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q12061156 pycnostachya Flora of the United States Flora of North America