BLAZING STAR 

 GAYFEATHER 



Liatris pycnostachya Michx. 



July - August They mv ])lanls of the open prairie — these nienihers 



Prairie roadsides of a drainatic and nias^rnificont family, the Liatris. 



In inanner ol" growth and in color and size, the 

 Liatris clan is iiniciuc in the world of bright ])rairie llowers. 



Gcay feather is a Composite, closely related to the bonesets and thor- 

 oui^lnvorts. whiih thrives in the blazing sunshine and dry soil of open 

 country along railroads and highways, and on ojx^n, diy clay ridges. Here 

 in August, stand up tlic exclamation nuirks of the gayfeather, which is 

 one of the most splendid plants to be found (m the Illinois praiiie. It 

 grows in a long, uubrauchiug wand which often stands four or five feet 

 tall. Perhajis two-thirds of its resilient stalk is closi-ly set with spirals 

 of short, narrow leaves. The remainder of the stem is a thickly set club of 

 l)right, rose-pui'])le, starry blossoms. When they are in bloom, they present 

 a "oattair* of rose-])ur|)le flowers which are fuzzy with the extended white 

 stamens and ](istils. For a time the entire stalk is in bloom at once: then 

 the lower flowers begin to fade as the ui)|)er Inuls continue to blos-(im. 



There are at least six species of gayfeather and blazing star in Illi- 

 nois. All are vciy similar in habit and color, and most have a wide range 

 from north to south through the state. '■J'hpy are most frerjuently found 

 with the drifts of early goldenrod and tick trefoil, with ironweed and 

 prairie sunflowers, there where the grey spermoidiile has its burrow and 

 the nest of the yellowthroat down in the drying grass is empty now of 

 eggs and young. 



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