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.
