Liatris compacta

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Liatris compacta
Liatris compacta.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Liatris
Species:
L. compacta
Binomial name
Liatris compacta
Synonyms [1]
  • Liatris squarrosa var. compactaTorr. & A. Gray 1841

Liatris compacta, sometimes called Arkansas gayfeather, is a herbaceous plant species in the sunflower family and genus Liatris . It is native to the Ouachitas of west-central Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma in the central United States, [2] where it is found growing in habitats such as rocky ridges, bluffs, hillsides, weathered sandstone, and open woods. It blooms in June to September and may start blooming as early as May, it has purple flowers grouped into heads. It was known as a variety of Liatris squarrosa as Liatris squarrosa var. compacta until relatively recently.

Contents

Description

Liatris compacta grows from rounded corms, that produce hairless stems 22 to 50 centimeters (8.8-20.0 inches) tall. The flowers are in heads with 18-25 flowers per head, the heads are produced singularly or in clusters of 2 to 5 heads. The heads have large leaf-like bracts under them; the stems attaching the heads to the main stem are 3 to 25 millimeters (0.12-1.00 inch) long. The heads are arranged in loose spike-like or raceme-like collections. The basal and early cauline leaves have 3 to 5 nerves and are elliptic-lanceolate in shape; the basal foliage often withers before flowering. The foliage is hairless and may have faint glandular dots; the leaves are gradually reduced in size as they ascend near the tops of the stems. The seed are produced in cypselae fruits that are 5.5 to 8 millimeters long with feathery bristles. [3]

Taxonomy

Liatris compacta appears closely related to Liatris squarrosa and has been grouped within that species in the past. It has differences in morphology and a distinctive range, it also grows in different habitats. It, along with Liatris squarrosa , Liatris hirsuta , and Liatris cylindracea are interrelated and similar in appearance; all four species having a tendency for cylindric involucres and have corolla lobes with dense hirsute hairs. Where these species inhabit the same locations, intermediates and intergraded forms exist from hybridization, making identifications arbitrary.

Related Research Articles

<i>Liatris</i> Genus of flowering plants

Liatris is a genus of flowering plants in the boneset tribe within the sunflower family native to North America. Its most common name is blazing star. Some species are used as ornamental plants, sometimes in flower bouquets.

<i>Liatris aspera</i> Species of flowering plant

Liatris aspera is a wildflower that is found in the mid to eastern United States in habitats that range from mesic to dry prairie and dry savanna.

<i>Liatris pycnostachya</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Echinacea simulata</i> Species of flowering plant

Echinacea simulata, commonly called pale purple coneflower or wavy leaf purple coneflower, is a species of flowering plant in the sunflower family. It is native to the east-central states of the United States, including Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also reports it as native to North Carolina and Virginia. Wavy leaf purple coneflower has a relatively small distribution, and its locations are still being determined. Its natural habitat is dry, calcareous, open areas such as barrens and woodlands.

<i>Liatris spicata</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Liatris spicata, the dense blazing star or prairie gay feather, is an herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the sunflower and daisy family Asteraceae. It is native to eastern North America where it grows in moist prairies and sedge meadows.

<i>Hymenoxys lemmonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Hymenoxys lemmonii is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names Lemmon's rubberweed, Lemmon's bitterweed, and alkali hymenoxys. It is native to the western United States in and around the Great Basin in Utah, Nevada, northern California, and southeastern Oregon.

Liatris acidota, also known as the Gulf Coast gayfeather, sharp blazing star and sharp gayfeather, is a plant species in the aster family Asteraceae and genus Liatris. It is native to Louisiana and Texas in the United States, where it is found in habitats that include coastal prairies, dry prairie and savanna, where it is found in sandy to clay soils.

<i>Liatris aestivalis</i> Species of plant

Liatris aestivalis, also known as the summer gayfeather, is a plant species in the aster family Asteraceae and genus Liatris. The specific epithet, aestivalis, is derived from Latin and means "pertaining to the summer". It is native to Oklahoma and Texas in the United States, where it is found in habitats that range from limestone outcrops to slopes and bases of slopes with shallow soils.

Liatris bracteata, commonly known as the bracted blazing star, or South Texas gayfeather, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is native to Texas in the United States, 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.

<i>Liatris chapmanii</i> Species of flowering plant

Liatris chapmanii, also known as Chapman's blazing star or Chapman's gayfeather, is a plant species in the aster family Asteraceae and genus Liatris. It is native to Alabama, Florida and Georgia in the United States, where it is found in habitats such as dunes, beach strands, sand ridges, fields and roadsides, it also grows in longleaf pine savannas and other scrub habitats.

Liatris cokeri, also known as Coker's gayfeather and sandhills blazing star, is a plant species in the aster family Asteraceae and genus Liatris. It is native to North and South Carolina in the United States, where it is found in habitats such as sand ridges and sandy fields to roadsides; it is also found in turkey-oak and longleaf pine-oak plant communities. It blooms in late summer with purple flower heads.

<i>Liatris cylindracea</i> Species of flowering plant

Liatris cylindracea is a plant species in the aster family. It is native to eastern North America, where its populations are concentrated in the Midwestern United States. It is found in habitats such as prairies, limestone and sandstone outcroppings, bluffs, barrens, glades, woodlands and dunes.

Liatris cymosa, also known as Aggie-land gayfeather or branched blazing star, is a plant species in the aster family Asteraceae and genus Liatris. It is native to east central Texas in North America, where it is found in habitats such as post oak woodlands, fields, fence rows, woodland openings and edges, in clay soils. It blooms in mid to late summer with purple flower heads. It is of conservation concern.

<i>Liatris elegans</i> Species of flowering plant

Liatris elegans, known commonly as pinkscale gayfeather, pinkscale blazingstar, and elegant blazingstar, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is native to the southeastern United States as far west as Texas and Oklahoma.

<i>Solidago nemoralis</i> Species of plant

Solidago nemoralis is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is native to North America, where it is widely found in Canada and the United States. Its common names include gray goldenrod, gray-stem goldenrod, old-field goldenrod, field goldenrod, prairie goldenrod, dwarf goldenrod, and dyersweed goldenrod.

<i>Liatris helleri</i> Species of flowering plant

Liatris helleri is a species of flowering plants in the aster family known by the common names Heller's blazing star and Heller's gayfeather. It is native to the Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States, found in the states of North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. It is threatened by recreational activities in its habitat, and is federally listed as a threatened species.

<i>Liatris provincialis</i> Species of flowering plant

Liatris provincialis is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Godfrey's blazing star and Godfrey's gayflower. It is endemic to Florida in the United States, where it is limited to Wakulla and Franklin Counties in the Panhandle.

<i>Cardamine douglassii</i> species of flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae

Cardamine douglassii, the limestone bittercress or purple cress, is a perennial forb native to the eastern and central United States as well as the province of Ontario in Canada, that produces white to pink or purple flowers in early spring.

<i>Liatris squarrosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Liatris squarrosa, commonly called the scaly blazingstar, is an herbaceous perennial plant native to eastern and central North America, with most populations in the Southeastern United States. It is a somewhat conservative species, often found in dry or rocky areas of native prairie and savanna vegetation. It produces purple flowerheads in the summer.

<i>Liatris hirsuta</i> Species of flowering plant

Liatris hirsuta, commonly called hairy gayfeather, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family (Asteraceae). It is native to North America, where it is found primarily in the Midwestern and South-Central regions of the United States. Its typical natural habitat is glades, rocky bluffs, and upland prairies.

References

  1. "Liatris compacta". Tropicos . Missouri Botanical Garden.
  2. "Liatris compacta". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  3. Nesom, Guy L. (2006). "Liatris compacta". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 21. New York and Oxford via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.