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Appalachian Blazing-star

Liatris squarrulosa

Found in diabase barrens, other glades and barrens, prairies, longleaf pine sandhills, open woodlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

59
Strong

Native to Mississippi. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
2–6 feet
Spread
1–2 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Dry to somewhat dry

Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

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At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
Late summer
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 36 Mississippi counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock

Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS

Genus host records with ranges including MS · Liatris

  • Carmenta anthracipennisBlazing Star Borer
  • Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
  • Schinia sanguineaBleeding Flower Moth
  • Schinia tertiaThird Flower Moth
  • Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
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
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Hardiness
Zones 6a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic to neutral
Flower color
Pink or purple
Growth rate
Slow
Growth habit
Grows in clumps
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Fall

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Appalachian Blazing star; Liatris earlei; Southern Blazing Star; Southern Gayfeather

Conservation status

Mississippi rankSNR
Global rankG4G5
MS statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources