Summary ³

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.

Description ⁴

Plants 25–75 cm. Corms globose. Stems glabrous. Leaves: basal and proximal cauline 1-nerved, linear, 40–100 × 1–2 mm, even-sized or gradually reduced distally, essentially glabrous, gland-dotted (proximal margins sparsely ciliate). Heads (widely spaced, stems evident) in loose, spiciform arrays. Peduncles 0. Involucres turbinate-cylindric, (11–)12–15 × 5–7 mm. Phyllaries in 5–6(–7) series, broadly oblong to lanceolate-oblong, strongly unequal, glabrous, margins without hyaline borders, finely ciliolate, apices obtuse, rounded, or truncate, sharply involute-apiculate. Florets 8–14(–16); corolla tubes glabrous inside. Cypselae 6–9 mm; pappi: lengths ± equaling corollas, bristles plumose. 2n = 60.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Don Verser, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Don Verser
2. (c) Julie Pearce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Julie Pearce
3. Adapted by Amber Leung from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liatris_bracteata
4. (c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/4956927

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• World Flora Online

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