Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Dotted Gayfeather
Liatris punctata
Aster family (Asteraceae)

Gayfeather is one of the last flowers of the season to bloom at lower elevations. The plant is an important source for butterflies and many other wildlife species browse it. Deep-rooted and long-lived (35 or more years), Gayfeather is drought-tolerant and a common addition to gardens.


©2012 Richard Spellenberg

Description

, 9-36" tall, with cluster of unbranched stems topped with of showy purple flowers. Flowerheads are comprised of 4-6 flowers with overlapping surrounding 5 tiny petals. Leaves are , stiff, , and . Small dots are apparent on leaves' lower surface. Flowerheads mature into a mass of white feathery .

Field Marks

Late-blooming, purple flowerhead, dry soils.

© Al Schneider

An entire leaf has smooth edges. Not toothed or lobed.

nectar -- A sweet fluid produced by the nectary in flowers and collected by bees and other insects.

A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.

A spike is an unbranched, indeterminate inflorescence in which the flowers are without stalks.

Bracts are modified leaves associated with a flower.

bristle -- A straight, stiff hair.

disc flowers are those in the center of a sunflower or daisy. Not a ray flower.

alternate -- leaves alternate along the main stem and are attached singly.

glabrous -- smooth, glossy, having no bristles or hair-like structures. Bald.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.