Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

DOTTED GAYFEATHER

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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