Florida Native Plant Society Blog

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....

    October began with great weather for a field trip to Longleaf Pine Preserve .   This is a Volusia County Land Acquisition and Management property and the trip was an event of that department's outreach program.                                Thirty people joined Volusia County naturalist Bonnie Cary for an eco-buggy ride into the preserve.  This included 12 members of the Pawpaw Chapter of FNPS, many of which helped answer native plant and other questions from the public participants. All of the FNPS chapters have field trips open to the public. Find a chapter near you at the FNPS.org homepage     Longleaf Pine Preserve  is one of the many properties in the Volusia Conservation corridor that extends through rural parts of the county mostly between the more populated western towns - i...