Tall Blazing Star: Liatris pycnostachya :
Asteraceae
Tall Blazing Star © RSWacha, 1998
Description:
Flowering heads each have from 5 to 7, lavender to pink, disc flowers. Ray flowers are absent. The numerous flowering heads are arranged in a dense cluster, around the stem, in a bottle-brush like inflorescence. Involucral bracts are elongate and purple. The tip of the bract tapers to a point that bends away from the flowering head. Leaves are grass-like, and have veins that run parallel to the leaf edges. Leaves attach individually without a petiole, and become smaller near the inflorescence. The stem is hairy. Blooms from July through September, in prairies and prairie plantings. Native to N. A.