blazing star

blazing star

As far as I am concerned, you can’t find a prettier wildflower than Liatris punctata, which some call gayfeather and others call blazing star.  We have a few of them on some thin soil where not much else besides cactus will grow.

Liatris grows on the prairies from Canada to Mexico, mostly on shallow soils where it produces a taproot that some say can go down to a depth of 15 feet. It spreads from seed and also from division of the bulb or corm.  I’ve read that Indians would eat the bulbs.

Comments (4)

  1. Mary Lou wrote::

    They are pretty, But I think that the California Poppy is happier!

    Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 3:10 pm #
  2. Bill wrote::

    Could be, ML. I tend to favor blues and purples though myself.

    Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 3:30 pm #
  3. deb wrote::

    They are very pretty.

    Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 8:16 pm #
  4. Outstanding photo!

    Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 8:52 pm #