Plant Preference/Growing Conditions:

The plant grows best in full to partial sun and well-drained soil. Grows best in full to partial sun.

Growth Habit/Description:

It grows in rocky, open woodlands on ridgetops and slopes, and on glades and bluffs of sandstone, novaculite, or shale.  Growth height 1-2 feet.

Bloom Season:

Flowers bloom as early as May and continue to bloom into September. It flowers earlier than other Liatris species in the Ouachita Mountains.

Fall and/or Winter Interest?

No.

Host Plant for Butterflies?

Liatris species are host plants for the flower moths Schinia gloriosa and Schinia sanguinea, both of which feed exclusively on the genus. Provides a nectar source for monarch butterflies. 

Other Known Ecological Value?

The blazing star is very drought-hardy and does well in gardens with well-drained soils. Butterflies and other pollinators are attracted to the purplish-pink fuzzy blossoms. The plants are visited by all manner of bees, hoverflies, and other insects.

Reason for Name: 

It is referred to as a blazing star due to the appearance of the flowers.

Related Plant Species:  

Related species in the garden are Liatris spicata (Gayfeather) and Liatris squarrosa (Scaly blazing star). To tell Liatris compacta  apart from Liatris spicata, the flower head of the (Gayfeather) has multiple flowering buds on one stem and the flowers are less barbed.  Liatris compacta was once considered a variation of the species L. squarrosa but has since been identified as a separate species due to morphologic differences, distinct habitat preferences, and that geographical separation from its closest relatives. 

Use for Food/Medcine:

It are known as colic roots due to its historic medicinal use as intestinal antispasmodics.

Susan Hooks, Forest Service U.S Department of Agriculture. Ouachita Blazing Star (Liatris Compacta).   [Cited 2024, September 18]. 

Available from: https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/liatris-compacta 

BONAP's North American Plant Atlas. Ouachita Blazing Star (Liatris compact).   [Cited 2024, September 18]

Available from: https://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Liatris%20compacta.png 

Xerces society for Invertebrate Conservation, Xerces Society - Blog - Plants For Pollinators: Blazingstar, By Justin Wheeler on 9, August 2017. Ouachita Blazing Star (Liatris Compacta).  [Cited 2024, October 2]

Availabe from: http://www.xerces.org/blog/plants-for-pollinators-blazingstar#:~:text=Liatris%20species%20are%20host%20plants,for%20monarchs%20and%20other%20butterflies. 

UF/IFAS Extension Nassau County Fact Sheet: Liatris, Fact Sheet Liatris, Liatris Family, [Cited 2024, October 13]

Available from: https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/nassauco/2017/06/05/fact-sheet-liatris/ 

Last edited by Lindsey Cox, October 2024.