FNPS Plant Database

Liatris tenuifolia

shortleaf blazing-star, shortleaf gayfeather
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

shortleaf blazing-star, shortleaf gayfeather

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Liatris tenuifolia

Family:

Asteraceae (Compositae)

Plant Specifics

Form:

flower

Size:

2.5 - 4 ft tall by 1 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

purple

Fruit Color:

white

Phenology:

winter dormant

Noted For:

Showy Flowers

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Wildflower garden.

Considerations:

Availability:

Native Nurseries, Seed

Propagation:

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:

Sand

Soil pH:

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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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies



  • Attracts butterflies and bees.


  • Documented bee visitors include   Agapostemon spleizdens, Augochlorella aurata, Augochloropsis suinptuosa, Coelioxys mexicana, Megachile albitarsis, M. brevis pseudobreuis, M. briinleyi, M. petulans, Boinbus impatiens and B. pennsylvanicus (Deyrup et al. 2002).


Native Habitats:

Scrub, scrubby flatwoods, dry flatwoods. Also known from some rockland areas in Miami-Dade County.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

Two varieties exist, both occur in this area.

Citations:

Hammer, Roger. 2015.  Attracting hummingbirds and butterflies in tropical Florida.  University Presses of Florida.



Huegel, Craig.  https://hawthornhillwildflowers.blogspot.com/2009/12/scrub-blazing-star-liatris-tenuifolia.html  (has a good discusson on habitat)



Huegel, Craig, N.  2012.  Native wildflowers and other ground covers for Florida landscapes. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Osorio, Rufino. 2001. A gardener's guide to Florida's native Plants.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Tras, Pamela.  2001.  Gardening for Florida's butterflies.  Great Outdoors Publishing, St. Petersburg, FL.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants (http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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