DOTTED GAYFEATHER
File Size: 156 KB
 
Liatris punctata  Hook.
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 6-30 inches
Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family
Flowering Period:   August, September
Also Called: Blazing star, button snakeroot.
Stems: Erect, solitary or in clusters, stiff, glabrous.
Leaves: Alternate, simple, sessile, numerous, linear, to 6 inches long, less than 1/5 inch wide, covered with tiny dots or pits; margins entire; upper leaves reduced in size.
Inflorescences: Elongate leafy spikes of many crowded heads; heads cylindric, 1/2 to 3/4 inch tall; bracts narrow, in 3-4 series, tips pointed, margins fringed with white hairs.
Flowers: Ray florets absent; disk florets 3-8, rose-purple, corollas pubescent inside.
Fruits: Achenes, short, ribbed, dark brown, tipped with many feather-like bristles, enclosing small seed.
Habitat: Dry, open, upland sites, most abundant on sandy soils.
Distribution: Throughout Kansas.
Forage Value: In the early growth stage, the herbage is nutritious and palatable for livestock, being especially preferred by sheep.
Uses: Native Americans utilized the roots as a food source and to make a tea used to treat stomachaches.
Comments: Called crow-foot by some Native American tribes, because crows were often observed eating the roots in the fall. Dotted gayfeather produces a taproot that can reach a depth of 15 feet, making it quite drought-resistant.

Dotted gayfeather infloresence
127 KB
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather
183 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather infloresence
100 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather disk florets
88 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather
173 KB
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather pappus
123 KB
Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather leaf
82 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather inflorescence
131 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather
172 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather
209 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather
213 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather habit
254 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather inflorescence
179 KB
Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather
207 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather
195 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather
213 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather habit
239 KB
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas
Liatris punctata var. mucronata
201 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Dotted gayfeather
244 KB
Ottawa County, Kansas