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Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis), a Comprehensive Guide in 10 Sections

Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis) is a herbaceous perennial that is native to the mid-western United States and middle provinces of Canada. This plant is a host to the Wavy-lined Emerald (Synchlora aerata) and two other moths. This plant grows from 1 to 3.5 feet tall, and has lavender, pink, rose, or purple flowers that bloom from July to September. It is hardy in zones 3-9.

Taxonomy and Naming of Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis)

Herbarium specimen of meadow blazing star (Liatris ligulistylis).
Herbarium Specimen — Liatris ligulistylis (A.Nels.) K.Schum. collected in United States of America by The New York Botanical Garden (licensed under CC BY 4.0)
Holotype specimen of meadow blazing star (Liatris ligulistylis).
Holotype Specimen — Liatris haywardii Rydb. collected in United States of America by The New York Botanical Garden (licensed under CC BY 4.0)

Taxonomy

Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis) was named and described by Aven Nelson, an American botanist, as Lacinaria ligulistylis, in 1901. Later in 1903, Karl Moritz Schumann, a German botanist, renamed it to it current name of Liatris ligulistylis. The species has kept the current name since 1903 and is a member of the Aster Family (Asteraceae).

Meaning of the Scientific and Common Names

Scientific Name

The genus name, Liatris, is of unknown origin in the literature. The species name, ligulistylis, is a Latin word for tongue-like, which describes the style in the flower.

Common Name and Alternative Names

The common name describes the flowers and the main habitat of the plant. Other common names are variations of a common name for Liatris in general and are meadow gayfeather and Rocky Mountain gayfeather. Other names come from the native location of the plants such as Rocky Mountain blazing star, Rocky Mountain Liatris, and northern plains blazing star.

Physical Description

Close-up of purple flower of meadow blazing star (Liatris ligulistylis).
Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis) — Joshua Mayer from Madison, WI, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Plant Type: This plant is a herbaceous perennial.
  • Height: 1 to 3.5 feet
  • Stem: pubescent
  • Leaves: The leaves are alternate, simple, entire, and oblanceolate (lower) to lanceolate to linear (upper) in shape. The leaves range in size from 3 to 6 inches in length at the bottom and get shorter towards the top of the plant. The leaves range from 0.4 to 0.6 inches wide. The leaves become more sessile towards the top of the plant. The leaves are scabrous on the margins (Gaiser 1946).
  • Flower color: Lavender, pink, rose, or purple
  • Blooming period: This plant blooms from July to September.
  • Fruiting type and period: The achenes mature in the late summer and fall.

Range of Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis) in the United States and Canada

Range of meadow blazing star (Liatris ligulistylis) in the United States and Canada.
Range Map Credit: Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2023.(website https://bonap.org/). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2023. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)]

This species is native to the mid-western United States and Canada. It is considered to be rare in the state of Nebraska.

Habitat

Meadow habitat in Europe.
Meadow Habitat — Leonhard Lenz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This species grows in a variety of habitats such as moist banks of streams (Kelso, et al. 2014), rocky open woods, meadows, roadsides, and stream gravel areas.

Hosted Insects

Wavy-lined emerald (Synchlora aerata) on beige background.
Wavy-lined Emerald Moth — CBG Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This species is a host for the wavy-lined emerald (Synchlora aerata), liatris flower moth (Schinia sanguinea), and the liatris borer moth (Carmenta anthracipennis).

Other Supported Wildlife

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) with Monarch butterfly.
Monarch Butterfly on Purple Coneflower — Robert Coxe, Image

This species is a nectar source to other butterflies, especially the Monarch Butterfly, skippers, bees, and wasps during the growing season. This plant may also attract hummingbirds and goldfinch, who like the seeds in the fall (Wisconsin Pollinators).

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this plant deer resistant?

This plant has been listed as deer resistant by a number of sources in the trade.

Does this plant have any ethnobotanical uses?

The Native American Ethobotanical Database does not specifically list this species, but Liatris in general have been used to rheumatism.

How is this plant distinguished from others?

Meadow blazing star is similar to the devil’s bite (Liatris scariosa). They can be differentiated by the phyllaries, as meadow blazing star has hyaline phyllaries and devil’s bite has non-hyaline phyllaries or they are very narrow (Weakley 2022). It is also similar to tall gayfeather (Liatris aspera), but Liatris ligulistylis has glabrous corolla tubes and the other does not (Wunderlin 1966).

Is this plant invasive?

This species is common in cultivation and has not been listed as being invasive.

Gardening with Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis)

Add Meadow Blazing Star to Your Garden

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Plant of meadow blazing star (Liatris ligulistylis) with lavender flowers.
Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis) — Nadiatalent, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Purple flowers of meadow blazing star (Liatris ligulistylis).
Flowers of Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis) — English: NPS Staff, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Hardiness

This species is hardy in zones 3-9. If your garden is within these zones and you have the right growing conditions (soil, moisture and exposure), you may well be able to grow this plant. However, if planted outside of its range, the hosted species may not recognize the plant or be harmed by ingesting a different species with an unfamiliar chemical composition.

Optimal Conditions

This species grows best in places that have full sun or partial shade in rich soil that moist and well-drained. Though it has a preference for moist conditions, the plants can handle drought once established.

Additional Information

This plant, like a lot of the Liatris, makes a good cut flower specimen when in bloom. Old flowers can be deadheaded to encourage more flowers during the season.

References

  • Gaiser, Lulu Odell. 1946. The Genus Liatris (Continued). Rhodora 48: 216-263.
  • Kelso, Sylvia, Leah Fugere, Miroslav Kummel, and Sebastian Tsocanos. 2014. Vegetation and Vascular Flora of Tallgrass Prairie and Wetlands, Black Squirrel Creek Drainage, South-Central Colorado: Perspectives from the 1940s and 2011. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 8 (1): 203-225.
  • Weakley, A.S. and the Southeastern Flora Team. 2022. Flora of the southeastern United States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden.
  • Wunderlin, R.P. 1966. Some Liatris New to Illinois. Transactions of the Illinois Academy of Science. 59: 387.
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Robert Coxe

Robert Coxe

Robert Coxe is a professional ecologist and botanist who has worked as the State Ecologist of Delaware and as an ecologist for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. He is also a former Past-President of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science. He currently is an innkeeper at McMullen House Bed & Breakfast LLC and a web designer and owner for Silphium Design LLC.

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