Wildflower Wednesday ~ Chapman's Blazing Star

Chapman’s Blazing Star is one of 16 species of Liatris listed in the Florida Atlas of Vascular Plants. It has a patchy distribution throughout the state in scrub, sandhills and dunes 





The basal rosette appears in the early spring and flowers begin to appear in late August several weeks before other blazing stars start to flower.  By early October most of the flowers of this short-lived perennial have gone to seed and the leaves have withered and turned brown.





Liatris chapmanii is fairly easy to recognize because the flowers grow down stalk and are often interspersed with the upper leaves.  The stout flower stocks are usually about three feet tall.  Dense clusters of bright lavender flowers and buds cling tightly to the flower stalk. During its month of blazing glory, L. chapmanii is a magnet for butterflies and bees.






Chapman’s Blazing Star is only offered for sale by a few native plant nurseries, or at native plant sales.  To succeed in a wildflower planting, it must be in a very well drained, sunny location. 



Author/photo credit: Jean Evoy

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