Often known as gayfeathers or blazing stars, these herbaceous perennials are a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisy, zinnia, and lettuce. They are native to North America where they grow in well-drained soil in full sun. The plants have strong straight stems that carry narrow leaves and terminate in a spike-like inflorescence of 15-45 purple flowerheads. The flowerheads are composed entirely of disc florets and open from the top to the bottom of the spike. Many species have flowers that are attractive to pollinators including butterflies, and are good in bouquets.
Photo Credit: Mark Ryckaert, Wikimedia Commons
The climate of the Midwest has resulted in at least eleven native species of Liatris there but they may be native to other places too. All of the Liatris described below are native to at least four states in the Midwest.
Rough Blazing Star (Liatris aspera)
Rough blazing star is also known as button blazing star, lacerate blazing star, tall prairie blazing star, and tall gayfeather. It is native to Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin as well as places in the Southwest, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic where it grows in prairies, open woods, glades, meadows and open disturbed areas such as along roads and train tracks. A basal clump of very narrow lance-shaped leaves up to 12″ long give rise to leafy racemes that carry widely spaced purple flowerheads about 3/4″ across and are attractive hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators, as well as being good in the vase. The seeds are enjoyed by songbirds.
Height: 2-3′ (occasionally to 6′)
Bloom Time: Summer to fall
Bloom Color: Purple
Light: Full sun
Soil: Average, dry to medium, well-drained
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-8
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Barrelhead Blazing Star (Liatris cylindracea)
Also known as cylindrical blazing star, Ontario blazing star, and dwarf blazing star, this herbaceous perennial is native to Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Iowa as well as the southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southwest. The leaves are narrow and up to 10″ long. The spike-like flower stems are up to 2′ tall, and carry fluffy, rose-purple flowers singly or in small clusters. Each flowerhead is subtended by a tight elongated cylinder of sharp-pointed involucral bracts. The flowers appear in mid- to late summer and are attractive to humming birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. The seeds attract song birds.
Height: 1.5-2′
Bloom Time: Mid- to late summer
Bloom Color: Rose-purple
Light: Full sun
Soil: Average, dry to medium moist, well-drained, alkaline
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-7
Photo Credit: Mason Brock, Wikipedia
Hairy Gayfeather (Liatris hirsuta)
Native to Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa, as well as parts of the Southeast and Southwest, hairy gayfeather can be found on rocky bluffs, in glades, and in upland prairies. Both stems and leaves are hairy. The leaves are linear to linear-lanceolate and up to 8″ long. The spike-like flowering stem grows up to 30″ tall and carries a terminal flower head and additional flowerheads loosely arranged on the stem in the axils of the upper leaves. The flowers are pink to reddish purple or magenta and attractive to butterflies.
Height: Up to 30″
Bloom Time: Summer
Bloom Color: Pink to reddish purple or magenta
Light: Full sun
Soil: Average, dry, well-drained
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-9
Photo Credit: Eric Hunt, Wikimedia Commons
Lanceleaf Blazing Star (Liatris lancifolia)
Also known as Great Plains gayfeather, this liatris is native to meadows and slopes of South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa as well as places in the Southwest and Rocky Mountain area. The narrow leaves are 2-8″ long with the largest at the base of tall flowering stems. Flowerheads are carried in dense terminal spikes of 15 or less, and are composed of purplish-pink disc flowers.
Height: 8-48″
Bloom Time: Late summer to early fall
Bloom Color: Pink, purple
Light: Sun
Soil: Medium moist, well-drained
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-9 ?
Photo Credit: jencorman, iNaturalist
Rocky Mountain Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis)
Also known as northern plains blazing star, and meadow blazing star, this showy perennial is native to North Dakota, South Dakoda, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, as well as New Mexico, and parts of the Rocky Mountain area. Both stem and leaves are hairy and the leaves vary from oblanceolate at base to linear high on the stem. Flowerheads are loosely arranged on spike-like flowering stems 3-5′ long. The flowers may be purple, lavender, or pink and are attractive to butterflies, especially monarchs, and other pollinators.
Height: 3-5′
Bloom Time: Late summer
Bloom Color: Purple, lavender, pink
Light: Full sun
Soil: Average, medium moist, well-drained
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-6
Photo Credit: Nadiatalent, Wikimedia Commons
Dotted Gayfeather/Blazing Star (Liatris punctata)
Dotted gayfeather is native to North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas as well as parts of the Rocky Mountain area, Southwest, and Southeast. It can be found in a variety of habitats including grasslands, prairies, chaparral, sagebrush, ponderosa pine forests, and pinyon-juniper woodlands. Growing from a deep root system, the plant forms a clump of grass-like leaves up to 4″ long and dotted with resin. From late summer to fall, flowering stems up to 24″ long bear 10-12″ long terminal spikes of densely packed rosy lavender flower heads.
Height: 1-2′
Bloom Time: Late summer to fall
Bloom Color: Rosy-lavender
Light: Full sun
Soil: Average, dry to medium moist, well-drained, acidic; tolerates alkaline soil and drought
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-9
Photo Credit: Matt Lavin, Wikimedia Commons
Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya)
Also known as cattail blazing star and cattail gayfeather, this popular wildflower is native to prairies, bluffs, and open areas of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri as well as parts of the Southwest and Southeast. It forms basal tufts of narrow, lanceolate leaves up to 12″ long and flowering stalks 2-5′ tall carrying flower heads in dense 20″ long terminal spikes. The flowerheads appear in summer and are dark rose-purple, 3/4″ across, and attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators. The seeds are attractive to songbirds.
Height: 2-5
Bloom Time: Summer
Bloom Color: Dark rose-purple
Light: Full sun
Soil: Average, dry to medium moist, well-drained; tolerates poor soils, drought, summer heat and humidity.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-9
Photo Credit: Eric Hunt, Wikimedia Commons
Savanna Blazing Star (Liatris scariosa)
Also called devil’s bite, Savanna blazing star is native to dry woods and clearings of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan as well as parts of the Mid-Atlantic, New England and the Southeast. It forms basal tufts of narrow leaves up to 10″ long and has stem leaves up to 3″ long. In late summer to early fall, flowering stems 2-4′ tall produce interrupted clusters of fluffy flower heads in terminal racemes up to 18″ long. The flower heads are reddish-purple, 1″ across and attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators. The seeds are attractive to songbirds.
Height: 2-4′
Bloom Time: Mid-summer to mid-fall
Bloom Color: Reddish purple
Light: Full sun
Soil: Sandy to average, dry to medium moist, well-drained; tolerates poor soil, summer heat and humidity
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-8
Photo Credit: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Wikimedia Commons
Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)
Known by many names including dense blazing star, dense button snakeroot, gayfeather, marsh blazing star ,sessile-headed blazing star, snakeroot, and spike gayfeather, this popular wildflower is native to Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio as well as to parts of New England, the Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic. It grows in a variety of habitats including moist, wood openings, mesic prairies, meadows, and marsh edges. Plants form clumps of grass-like leaves up to 12″ long and leafy flower stalks up to 6′ tall. The red-purple flowerheads are densely arranged in terminal spikes 6-12″ long. They appear from mid summer to mid fall, are 3/4″ across, and are attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators. The seeds are attractive to song birds.
Height: 2-6′
Bloom Time: Summer
Bloom Color: Red-purple
Light: Full sun
Soil: Average, medium moist, well-drained; tolerates summer heat and humidity
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-8
Photo Credit: Stan Shebs, Wikimedia Commons
Scaly Blazing Star (Liatris squarrosa)
Scaly blazing star is native to South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas as well as to parts of the Rocky Mountain area, Southwest, Mid-Atlantic and all of the Southeast. It grows in a variety of habitats including woodlands, savannah, and prairie. The linear leaves are 3-6″ long and less numerous than other Liatris species. From summer into fall, tuft-like flower heads appear sparsely arranged on the ends of unbranched flowering stems 1-3′ tall. The flower heads are purple, up to 1″ across, and attracts humming birds, butterflies, and other pollinators.
Height: 1-3′
Bloom Time: Summer to fall (relatively early bloomer)
Bloom Color: Purple
Light: Full sun
Soil: Sandy or rocky, medium-dry to dry, well-drained
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-8
Photo Credit: Mason Brock
Appalachian Blazing Star (Liatris squarrulosa)
Also known as southern blazing star, this wildflower is native to prairies, meadows and savannahs of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Missouri as well as areas in the Southwest, Midwest and Southeast. The lower leaves are narrow oblanceolate and up to 11″ but become more linear and shorter as they go up the stem. From mid-summer to fall, pinkish purple flower heads appear on unbranched stems. They are up to 1″ across and attract pollinators.
Height: 2-6′
Bloom Time: Mid-summer through fall
Bloom Color: Pinkish-purple
Light: Full sun; tolerates some shade
Soil: Sandy, to rocky loam, medium moist to dry, well-drained
USDA Hardiness Zones: 6-9
Photo Credit: Eric Hunt, Wikimedia Commons
The Midwest is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The area includes lakes, mountains, and vast fertile plains that are the “bread basket” of the nation. The climate of the Midwest has great variations in temperatures with hot humid temperature averaging 85-95 F in summer and winter temperatures often falling below 0 F. Precipitation comes in the form of both rain and snow and varies from 43.6″/year to 18.8″/year.