As summer’s heat gives way to cooler days, a playful dance of colors on the roadsides and in the meadows of Southern Appalachia mimics autumn’s hot and cold nature. Fall flowers tend to bloom in warm yellows and oranges, cool blues and purples, or, as is the case with many Asters (Symphyotrichum & Eurybia spp.), display both purple and gold on the same flower.
Among the various hues of purple flowering plants in the fall, such as the lightly colored Joe Pye Flowers (Eutrochium spp.) and the deeply purple flowers of Ironflower (Vernonia spp.), one of my favorite fall blooms is the Blazing Star (Liatris spp.), also called Gayfeathers.
Blazing Stars got this common name from the tall spikes of the species called Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) said to resemble the streaking tail of a comet crossing the sky. This is also a nod to fact that comets used to be called blazing stars, similar to the shooting star name.
Blazing Stars begin blooming at the end of summer, and some species will stay in bloom through the first frost, usually around mid-to-late October. Their purple spikes rise out of the meadow like candles on a birthday cake. While you can’t blow out their flowers, you can make a wish on their fluffy brown seeds.
Like many members of the Aster Family (Asteraceae), Blazing Stars have hard seeds attached to fluffy tufts that spread the seeds around with the help of the wind. The wind-dispersed seeds float far from the parent plant, helping to ensure that they can find suitable ground to grow. These seeds are basically attached to tiny parachutes and float away in the breeze.
There are over 40 species of Liatris that grow in North America, according to the Biota of North America Program (BONAP). Of those, 13 live in North Carolina and 10 can be found growing in the Mountain Counties, according to Vascular Palnts of NC website.
Some of those mountainous Blazing Stars are hard to come by, including the federally threatened Heller’s Blazing Star found on and near Grandfather Mountain. Others are much more common, like the aforementioned Dense Blazing Star and the Shaggy Blazing star (Liatris pilosa), which can be found in all but 27 of North Carolina’s 100 counties. This species is common in the Piedmont and much rarer in the mountains.
Blazing Star plants are not just showy wild species. They are commonly used in landscaping and native plant gardens. Their showy and beautiful flowers often star in the late summer flower bed. Liatris plants are also important members of a wildlife garden, as they are the host plant for the Liatris Flower Moth, whose caterpillars feed on liatris flower petals, and the Liatris Borer Moth, whose larva eat the stems of Liatris. These two insects are not pests but rather co-evolved and mutual species that “grew up” learning to feed on Liatris.
As the comet’s arc of time moves us further from summer and fully into fall, look for the purple stalks of liatris in farm fields or meadows. If you’re lucky, you might just spy a rarer species like the beautiful Appalachian Blazing Star (Liatris squarrulosa) featured in this week’s photo.
(The Joyful Botanist leads weekly wildflower walks most Fridays and offers consultations and private group tours through Bigelow’s Botanical Excursions. bigelownc@gmail.com.)