Gayfeather Liatris spicata
LATIN NAME: Liatris spicata
COMMON NAME: Blazing Star
The gayfeather raises its dense, feathery, purple spikes above the grassy leaves, and the small, tubular flowers open from the top down. The upright, clump-forming, perennial plant carries the narrow, grassy, dark-green leaves and the dense, feathery, wand-like spikes of the small, tubular, purple, violet or white flower heads through the late summer, one of the fine, bold sights of the prairie border, drawing the bees and the butterflies. The plant is a fine, historic presence of the prairie garden, and it is a plant of the open, sunny, deep, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The gayfeather is a historic subject of the plant science, and the feathery spikes keep showing up in the work on the prairie perennials. The way the dense, feathery, wand-like spikes of the small, tubular flower heads form along the tall stems has been studied steadily, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the prairie perennials, the butterfly plants and the members of the daisy family. The narrow, grassy leaves and the clump-forming habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the gayfeather is a regular subject of the work on the feathery spikes of the late world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The gayfeather is a fine, bold plant of the prairie border and the cut-flower patch. The dense, feathery, wand-like spikes of the small, tubular, purple, violet or white flower heads open through the late summer, one of the fine, bold sights of the prairie border, drawing the bees and the butterflies, and the tall stems come to the vases as the fine, lasting cut flowers of the late season. It is one of the fine choices for the prairie border, the cut-flower patch and the study collection, and it has been written about in the horticultural and the botanical papers for the feathery spikes and the bold ways. It is a fine, bold plant of the open, sunny, deep, well-drained garden.
Give the young plants the deep, well-drained bed, and the feathery spikes will rise in the second season.
To grow the gayfeather from seed, sow the small, bristly seeds a centimetre and a half down in the pot of fine, sandy soil, keep the pot in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings come through within a few weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun and the deep, well-drained ground, the feathery spikes will rise through the late summer.
Uses: Medicinal
(Blazing Star) Shooting bolt upright out of the garden bed, gayfeather is a bold statement in the mixed border. The strong spikes of rosy-purple flowers are the most prominent feature of the plant, rising 75-90 cm (29-35 inches) in a feathery burst of colour. Blooming in the difficult-to-fill midsummer, the plants prefer moisture but tolerate poor soil. They are attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds, and are good cut flowers. Performing well in meadow gardens as well as cottage garden settings, it prefers full sun and is unappealing to deer. Tuberous roots make a soothing tea valuable in kidney diseases or as a gargle for sore throats. Gayfeather is easily grown from seed, blooming in the second year.