{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Speciesbox | image = Liatris punctata.jpg | status = {{TNCStatus}} | status_system = TNC | status_ref = | genus = Liatris | species = punctata | authority = Hook. }}
'''''Liatris punctata''''' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names '''dotted gayfeather''', '''dotted blazingstar''', and '''narrow-leaved blazingstar'''. It is native to North America, where it occurs throughout the plains of central Canada, the central United States, and northern Mexico.<ref name="feis">{{FEIS|last=Walsh|first=Roberta A.|date=1993|type=forb|genus=Liatris|species=punctata|access-date=2011-11-26}}</ref>
==Description== ''L. punctata'' is a perennial herb producing one or more erect stems {{convert|14|to|85|cm|ft|frac=2|abbr=off}} tall.<ref name="FNA">{{eFloras|1 |tribe=Eupatorieae |first=Guy L. |last=Nesom}}</ref> They grow from a thick taproot {{convert|1.3|to|5|m|ft|frac=2}} deep that produces rhizomes. The leaves are {{Convert|7.5-15|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long.<ref name="Audubon">{{Cite book |last=Spellenberg |first=Richard |url=https://archive.org/details/nationalaudubons00spel/page/384/ |title=National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region |publisher=Knopf |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-375-40233-3 |edition=rev |pages=384 |orig-date=1979}}</ref> Appearing from August to September,<ref name="Audubon" /> the inflorescence is a spike of several flower heads<ref name="feis" /> which are each about {{Convert|2|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} across.<ref name="Audubon" /> The heads contain several flowers which are usually purple, but sometimes white.<ref name=usgs>{{cite web |url=https://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/wildflwr/species/liatpunc.htm |title=''Liatris punctata'' |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120914004358/http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/wildflwr/species/liatpunc.htm |archive-date=2012-09-14 |website=Native Wildflowers of the North Dakota Grasslands |publisher=United States Geological Survey |access-date=2011-11-26}}</ref> The fruit is an achene tipped with a long pappus of feathery bristles.<ref name="FNA"/> The plant reproduces sexually by seed and vegetatively by sprouting from its rhizome. This species is slow-growing and long-lived, with specimens estimated to be over 35 years old.<ref name=feis/>
==Distribution and habitat== This plant occurs in Canada from Alberta to Manitoba, in most of the central United States and part of Mexico. There are three varieties, with var. ''punctata'' in western areas, var. ''nebraskana'' more common to the east, and var. ''mexicana'' in Oklahoma and Texas.<ref name=feis/>
This species grows in a wide variety of habitat types, including ponderosa pine forests, sagebrush, chaparral, pinyon–juniper woodland, and many types of grassland and prairie. It is drought-tolerant because of its deep roots, but is less abundant with less water. It is also fire-tolerant, able to resprout from its rhizome and disperse its seeds via wind to soil cleared of litter by fire. On plains and prairies it grows with many types of grasses, such as Scribner's panic grass (''Panicum scribnerianum'') and tumble grass (''Schedonnardus paniculatus''), and wildflowers such as heath aster (''Symphyotrichum ericoides''), tick-trefoil (''Desmodium sessilifolium''), and oldfield goldenrod (''Solidago nemoralis''). It is a host plant for the hemiparasitic wholeleaf Indian paintbrush (''Castilleja integra'').<ref name=feis/>
==Ecology== This plant is palatable to livestock and wild ungulates such as elk, white-tailed deer, and pronghorn. Its nectar is favored by lepidopterans, such as the rare butterfly Pawnee montane skipper (''Hesperia leonardus montana''), which is known to occur wherever the plant does.<ref name=feis/>
==Cultivation== This species is listed in the U.S. Forest Service Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) as being good for revegetating prairie habitats and reclaiming mining spoil.<ref name=feis/> Dotted gayfeather is highly recommended by wildflower writers such as Claude A. Barr as ornamental plant for its clear spires of purple blooms even in dry years due to its substantial water storing taproot. In climates with more moisture than its native range, it needs lime or potash additions to soil to maintain stiff, upright stems.<ref name="Jewels">{{cite book |last1=Barr |first1=Claude A. |title=Jewels of the plains : wild flowers of the Great Plains grasslands and hills |date=1983 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis |isbn=0-8166-1127-0 |page=109}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Liatris punctata}} * {{CalPhotos|Liatris|punctata}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q6540315}}
punctata Category:Flora of the Canadian Prairies Category:Flora of the United States Category:Flora of New Mexico Category:Flora of Louisiana Category:Plants described in 1833 Category:Flora of Northern America