''Liatris aspera'' (known as rough blazing star,
button blazing star, lacerate blazing star, tall prairie blazing star,
or tall gayfeather
) is a
perennial
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 ...
wildflower
A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the w ...
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 found in central to eastern North America in habitats that range from mesic to dry prairie and dry savanna.
Description
''Liatris aspera'' is a perennial herb
that grows as a single, erect, unbranched stem high.
Leaves are numerous on the stem,
alternate
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
, and narrowly
lanceolate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...
with the lower leaves larger, up to long and wide, becoming smaller and narrower higher on the plant.
The
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
is an erect
raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
with numerous, purple, button-like
flower head
A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...
s, short-stalked or stalkless, blooming from the top down. It flowers from mid-August through October, with seed becoming ripe in October to November.
Distribution and habitat
This plant is native to the United States from Texas to the west and New York to the east. It is also native to Ontario in Canada. It grows in prairies, glades, and savannas, and along roadsides and railroads.
Ecology
It attracts birds, hummingbirds, and butterflies.
Monarch butterfly
The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (''Danaus plexippus'') is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. It ...
on Liatris aspera, North Dakota, USA.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6540301
aspera
Aspera may refer to:
Music
* Aspera (band), an American indie rock band
* ''(a)spera'', a 2009 album by Mirah
* Above Symmetry, a Norwegian progressive metal band originally known as Aspera
* "Aspera", the lead track from ''We Will Become Like Bir ...
Flora of the Eastern United States
Flora of the United States
Flora of North America