Liatris elegans

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Liatris elegans
Liatris elegans Gil.jpg
Photo taken by Gil Nelson
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae ⁄ Compositae
Genus: Liatris
Species: L. elegans
Binomial name
Liatris elegans
(Walter) Michx.
LIAT ELEG dist.jpg
Natural range of Liatris elegans from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common names: Pinkscale blazing star; Elegant gayfeather; Common elegant blazing star

Taxonomic notes

Synonyms: L. elegans var. flabellata (Small) Gaiser; Laciniaria elegans (Walter) Kuntze; Laciniaria flabellata Small

Varieties: Liatris elegans (Walter) Michaux var. elegans; Liatris elegans (Walter) Nichaux var. kralii Mayfield

Description

A description of Liatris elegans is provided in The Flora of North America. A rhizomatous perennial that is frequent where it is found. [1]

Distribution

Ecology

Habitat

This species has been observed growing in longleaf pine-wiregrass communities, in pine-oak woodlands, bordering sink-ravines, and in live oak hammocks in semi-open to open areas.[1] It also can occur in disturbed areas such as powerline corridors, roadsides, and bulldozed sand scrub.[1] Growing in semi-open and open habitats, L. elegans thrives in dry, coarse, and/or loamy sands as well as red clays.[1] Associated species include longleaf pine, wiregrass, Symphyotrichum dumosum, Solidago, Pityopsis, Liatris pauciflora, Quercus laevis, Heterotheca subaxillaris, Haplopappus divaricatus, Polygonella gracile, Aristidia patula, and Lespedeza hirta.[1] L. elegans responds positively to agricultural-based soil disturbance in South Carolina coastal plain communities. This marks it as an indicator species for post-agricultural woodland.[2] When exposed to soil disturbance by military training in West Georgia, L. elegans responds negatively by way of absence.[3]

Phenology

This species has been observed flowering and fruiting August through November. [1]

Seed dispersal

This species is thought to be dispersed by wind. [4]

Conservation and management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2014. Collectors: Ed Keppner, Lisa Keppner, Wilson Baker, Loran C. Anderson, Richard S. Mitchell, E.S. Ford, R.K. Godfrey, Bruce Hansen, JoAnn Hansen, R. Kral, John Morrill, J. P. Gillespie, Sidney McDaniel, R. Komarek, R L Lazor, Gary R. Knight, MacClendons, G. Wilder, Bill Boothe, and Marcia Boothe. States and Counties: Florida: Alachua, Bay, Calhoun, Clay, Duval, Escambia, Gadsden, Holmes, Leon, Jackson, Jefferson, Madison, Santa Rosa, Taylor, Washington, Wakulla, and Walton. Georgia: Thomas.
  2. Brudvig, L.A., E Grman, C.W. Habeck, and J.A. Ledvina. (2013). Strong legacy of agricultural land use on soils and understory plant communities in longleaf pine woodlands. Forest Ecology and Management 310: 944-955.
  3. Dale, V.H., S.C. Beyeler, and B. Jackson. (2002). Understory vegetation indicators of anthropogenic disturbance in longleaf pine forests at Fort Benning, Georgia, USA. Ecological Indicators 1(3):155-170.
  4. Kirkman, L. Katherine. Unpublished database of seed dispersal mode of plants found in Coastal Plain longleaf pine-grasslands of the Jones Ecological Research Center, Georgia.