Barrelhead Blazing Star
Liatris cylindracea
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in limestone glades, dry prairies. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 2 feet
- Spread
- 6 inches–1 foot
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to somewhat dry
Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- July to September
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 10 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone
Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 72 animals.
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Lark SparrowChondestes grammacus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Rough-legged HawkButeo lagopus
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Bewick's WrenThryomanes bewickii
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Liatris
- Carmenta anthracipennisBlazing Star Borer
- Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
- Schinia sanguineaBleeding Flower Moth
- Schinia tertiaThird Flower Moth
- Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
46BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Liatris
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
8Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Liatris
- Dianthidium curvatum
- Megachile pugnata
- Melissodes denticulatus
- Melissodes niveus
- Melissodes subillatus
- Melissodes tinctus
- Perdita swenki
- Protandrena labrosiformis
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–7
- Flower color
- Purple
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Purple” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Hardiness · “Zones 4–7” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
- Height · “2 feet” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Full sun” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- primary_flower_color · “purple” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide
- Soil · “moderately dry to dry” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Spread · “6 inches–1 foot” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
Also known as
Barrelhead Gayfeather; Ontario Blazing Star; Ontario Gayfeather
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Growing cautions
- Self-seeds. Will re-seed. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications