Scaly Blazing-star
Liatris squarrosa
Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 1–2.5 feet
- Spread
- 6 inches–1 foot
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to average
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
- Summer and fall
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 19 Louisiana parishes.
Who uses this plant?
4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Liatris
- Carmenta anthracipennisBlazing Star Borer
- Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
- Schinia sanguineaBleeding Flower Moth
- Schinia tertiaThird Flower Moth
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
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–8b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Purple
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Summer and fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Flower color · “Purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–2.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont differ)
- primary_flower_color · “purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Good drainage; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox, Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “6 inches–1 foot” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Colic Root; Loosescale Gayfeather; Scaly Blazing Star
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| LA 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.
Sources
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Louisiana 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

