Tall blazing star

Liatris aspera, the rough blazing-star or tall blazing-star, is a perennial herb of the aster family native to dry prairies, open woods and sandy savannas of the central and eastern United States and southern Canada. It arises from a thickened corm-like rootstock, producing one to several stiff, erect stems 50-150 cm tall. The narrowly lanceolate to linear leaves are alternate, rough to the touch, 10-30 cm long near the base and progressively reduced upward. From late summer into autumn the upper part of the stem becomes a striking, elongate spike-like raceme of crowded sessile heads. Each head contains 16-35 deep pink-purple to lavender disc florets only (no rays), and the involucral bracts are conspicuously broad, with papery, often crinkled, recurved margins, distinguishing this species from its relatives. It is much visited by butterflies and is a notable prairie wildflower.