Wikimedia Commons
Asteraceae
Marsh Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
Joy, prairie spirit, vertical grace.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Genus
- Liatris
- Native to
- Eastern North America
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- Perennial
- Height
- 60–150 cm (2–5 ft)
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average to moist, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Hardiness
- 3–8
- Lifespan
- Long-lived perennial
Did you know
- Liatris is one of the very few flowers in the world that opens from the top down—the topmost buds bloom first, sweeping the spike in a gradual purple cascade toward the base.
- A single mature liatris plant can produce a flower spike four feet tall, holding hundreds of small fluffy florets along its full length like a lit purple sparkler.
- It's one of the top butterfly flowers in the world—monarchs, swallowtails, and skippers can sometimes be seen dripping off a single spike like Christmas ornaments.
- The corm (a swollen underground stem) was eaten by Native Americans of the prairies as a starchy emergency food, and was also brewed as tea for snake bites and back pain.
- Despite being a wildflower of soggy marshes, liatris is one of the easiest perennials to grow—it's now sold globally as a cut flower in Dutch flower auctions.
Color meanings
0
joy
1
happiness
2
prairie spirit