Northern Blazing-star
Liatris scariosa
Found in shale barrens, dry rock outcrops, roadbanks. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 1–5 feet
- Spread
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Not yet recorded · Leaves · Bloom
Bloom: NC species account not read yet.
Leaves: no source found yet.
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 24 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits
Habitats
Shale barrens; cliffs, ledges and rocky summits; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Who uses this plant?
4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Liatris
- Carmenta anthracipennisBlazing Star Borer
- Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
- Schinia sanguineaBleeding 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 claimFlies 1
- Exoprosopa fasciata
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Adult butterflies / moths 2
- Anosia plexippus
- Zerene caesonia
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Other wasps 1
- Sphex vulgaris
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–8b
- Flower color
- Pink, purple or white
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Pink, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
- Height · “1–5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
- Spread · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Northern Blazing star
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S4? |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5? |
| VA 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
- Spreads. Will naturalize. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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