Native Plant Database

From the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb
Leaf Retention: Deciduous
Flower: Flowers in 4 inch spires
Fruit:
Size Class: 3-6 ft.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Pink , Purple
Bloom Time: Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov , Dec

Distribution

USA: AR , KS , MO , OK , TX
Native Distribution: C. Great Plains, s. to TX & adjacent Mex.
Native Habitat: Open fields & woods; calcareous uplands
USDA Native Status: L48(N)

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Low
Light Requirement: Sun
Soil Moisture: Dry
Soil pH: Acidic (pH<6.8)
CaCO3 Tolerance: High
Soil Description: Calcareous, rocky soils. Gravelly, Sandy, Limestone-based
Conditions Comments: Narrowleaf gayfeather likes a dry to medium soil in full sun. Too much water will leads to root rot. Will self seed in a sandy soil. Tolerant of alkaline soils.

Benefit

Use Ornamental: Perennial garden, Rocky hillside, Rock gardens
Use Wildlife: Liatris spp. attract butterflies.
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Interesting Foliage: yes
Nectar Source: yes
Deer Resistant: Minimal

Value to Beneficial Insects

Special Value to Native Bees

This information was provided by the Pollinator Program at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Find Seed or Plants

Order seed of this species from Native American Seed and help support the Wildflower Center.

Mr. Smarty Plants says

Medicinal plants at the Wildflower Center
April 19, 2006
What kinds of medicinal plants do you have at the Wildflower Center?
view the full question and answer

List of native perennial Texas flowers
March 13, 2006
Good day, I am searching for a list of native Texas flowers (preferably perennials) for a flower garden. Thank you.
view the full question and answer

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is either on display or available from the following:

Fredericksburg Nature Center - Fredericksburg, TX
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Austin, TX
Native Plant Society of Texas - Fredericksburg, TX
Stengl Biological Research Station - Smithville, TX
NPSOT - Austin Chapter - Austin, TX
NPSOT - Williamson County Chapter - Georgetown, TX, TX

Herbarium Specimen(s)

NPSOT 1059 Collected Sep 29, 1995 in Comal County by Mary Beth White
NPSOT 0041 Collected Oct. 12, 1990 in Bexar County by Judith C. Berry

Wildflower Center Seed Bank

LBJWC-625 Collected 2007-10-30 in Travis County by Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
LBJWC-181 Collected 2007-10-28 in Bell County by Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Bibliography

Bibref 946 - Gardening with Prairie Plants: How to Create Beautiful Native Landscapes (2002) Wasowski, Sally
Bibref 355 - Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest (1991) Miller, G. O.
Bibref 765 - McMillen's Texas Gardening: Wildflowers (1998) Howard, D.
Bibref 318 - Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region (2002) Wasowski, S. & A. Wasowski
Bibref 281 - Shinners & Mahler's Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas (1999) Diggs, G. M.; B. L. Lipscomb; B. O'Kennon; W. F...
Bibref 328 - Wildflowers of Texas (2003) Ajilvsgi, Geyata.
Bibref 286 - Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country (1989) Enquist, M.

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From the Archive

Wildflower Newsletter 1990 VOL. 7, NO.5 - Naturalistic Landscaping Takes Careful Planning, Director\'s Report, Breaking th...

Recommended Species Lists

Find native plant species by state. Each list contains commercially available species suitable for gardens and planned landscapes. Once you have selected a collection, you can browse the collection or search within it using the combination search.

View Recommended Species page

Additional resources

USDA: Find Liatris mucronata in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Liatris mucronata in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Liatris mucronata