North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Liatris microcephala

Liatris microcephala (Small) K. Schum.

small-head blazing-star, smallhead blazing star

Synonym(s): Lacinaria microcephala

Liatris microcephala (Small-head Blazing-star)

Image ID: 12548
Image by: Cressler, Alan M.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: LIMI7
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Liatris microcephala
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2017-01-29

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: LIATR
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Liatris
GENUS AUTHORITY: Gaertn. ex Schreb.
GENUS COMMON: Blazing star
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of 40-50 species, herbs, of e. and c. North America.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Nesom in FNA (2006c); Gaiser (1946)=Z; Cronquist (1980)=SE; Stucky & Pyne (1990); Godfrey (1948)=Y; Stucky (1991); Stucky (1992); Mayfield (2002). Key adapted in large part from FNA.

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: ASTERA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Asteraceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Dumortier 1822 or COMPOSITAE Giseke 1792
FAMILY COMMON: Aster Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 1500-1700 genera and 20,000-25,000 species, shrubs, herbs, trees, and vines, cosmopolitan in distribution.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Cronquist (1980)=SE throughout family treatment.

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT:

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate, Basal
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Aug-Oct

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
						x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
		x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: southeastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text:

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE:
LIGHT EXPOSURE:
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
1446	HORT	2006-11-17	Bryan	View
1529	HORT	2005-03-08	Bryan	View
1530	HORT	2005-03-08	Bryan	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
6998	1998-0227			View
8443	2005-0517	2005-12-20		View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
9873	6998	8	NCBG staff	1996-03-05	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: LIMI7
USDA Common Name: Smallhead Blazing Star
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, GA, KY, NC, SC, TN)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

2018 Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species of North Carolina

NHP ID	S RANK	ROUNDED S RANK	G RANK	ROUNDED G RANK	STATE STATUS	FEDERAL STATUS
17094	S1	S1	G3G4	G3	SC-V

This information is derived from the 2018 North Carolina Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species.

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Liatris microcephala
COMMON NAME: Small-head Blazing-star
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, FNA, G, K, RAB, SE, W, Y, Z; = Laciniaria microcephala Small - S]
PHENOLOGY: Aug-Oct.
HABITAT: Outcrops of acidic rocks (sandstone, granite, gneiss).
COMMENTS: W. NC and KY south to w. SC, n. and c. GA, and n. AL.
RANGE MAP: Liatris microcephala.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Asteraceae Dumortier 1822 or COMPOSITAE Giseke 1792 (Aster Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 1500-1700 genera and 20,000-25,000 species, shrubs, herbs, trees, and vines, cosmopolitan in distribution.
REFERENCE: Cronquist (1980)=SE throughout family treatment.

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Liatris Gaertn. ex Schreb. (Blazing star)
SUMMARY: A genus of 40-50 species, herbs, of e. and c. North America.
REFERENCE: Nesom in FNA (2006c); Gaiser (1946)=Z; Cronquist (1980)=SE; Stucky & Pyne (1990); Godfrey (1948)=Y; Stucky (1991); Stucky (1992); Mayfield (2002). Key adapted in large part from FNA.

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Liatris microcephala in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Liatris microcephala in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

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

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 12548 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 12548 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 12547 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 12548 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)