FNPS Plant Database

Liatris chapmanii

Chapman's blazing-star, Chapman's gayfeather
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter

Nomenclature

Common Name:

Chapman's blazing-star, Chapman's gayfeather

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Liatris chapmanii

Family:

Asteraceae (Compositae)

Plant Specifics

Form:

flower

Size:

2-4 ft tall by narrow spike ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

rose, purple

Fruit Color:

Phenology:

Winter dormant. Perennial sprouting back from corms. Blooms summer-fall with the peak being in September-October.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Wildflower garden.

Considerations:

Availability:

Seed

Propagation:

Seed

Light:

Full Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Not wet but not extremely dry -to- Very long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Soil pH:

adaptable

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B,11

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

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Vouchered In:

Distribution
Vouchered
Not vouchered
Selected
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No county distribution is available for this plant yet.
Starting…
Map coded by Melissa Fernandez-de Cespedes (Paynes Prairie Chapter)

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies

Attracts butterflies and bees.





Leafcutting bees from the family Megachilidae have been observed visiting the flowers at the Archbold Biological Station.

Native Habitats:

Fatwoods, scrubby flatwoods, scrub, dunes, beach strands, sand ridges, fields and roadsides, sandhill. Pyrophytic.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

Citations:

Deyrup, Mark, Jay Edirisinghe, and Beth Norden. (2002). The diversity and floral hosts of bees at the Archbold Biological Station, Florida (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Insecta Mundi, 544.


Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. (2020). Liatris chapmanii. Flora of North America North of Mexico. (a href="https://floranorthamerica.org/Liatris_chapmanii" target="_blank">https://floranorthamerica.org/Liatris_chapmanii). Accessed 2026.


Hammer, Roger. (2015). Attracting Hummingbirds and Butterflies in Tropical Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


Huegel, Craig N. (2009-2025). Native Florida Wildflowers (blog). ( http://hawthornhillwildflowers.blogspot.com/ ).


Traas, Pamela. (2001). Gardening for Florida's Butterflies. Great Outdoors Publishing Co., St. Petersburg, FL.


Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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