prairie wildflower

Dotted gayfeather

Liatris punctata

Also known as Dotted Blazing Star, Dotted Liatris, Purples

Native to the Great Plains, the Rockies, and the Midwest and southern Canada

Alberta to New Mexico, east to Michigan, Iowa, western Missouri, Arkansas and Texas; naturalized eastward

Light Full sun Sun tolerance
Moisture Dry Moisture preference
Zones 3–9 Cold to heat range
Bloom Jul–Oct Flowering time
Height up to 3 ft to 0.9 m
Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial

Full details, see below

In the garden

A prairie wildflower for full sun and lean, dry soil. Its pink and purple flowers peak in August. At up to 3 ft, it suits meadows and sunny borders. Hardy in USDA zones 3–9.

Growing conditions

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

Hardiness zones

Find your zone:

When it blooms

The Dotted gayfeather's pink and purple flowers bloom July to October, peaking in August. This late-summer display draws butterflies and bees.

Dotted gayfeather blooms pink & purpleFoliage

Pollinators & wildlife

Butterflies Monarch

also Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Gulf Fritillary, Black Swallowtail +44 more
Common Buckeye, Fiery Skipper, Painted Lady, Pipevine Swallowtail, Gray Hairstreak, American Lady, Orange Sulphur, Great Spangled Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary, Common Checkered-Skipper and Allies, Clouded Sulphur, Peck's Skipper, Common Wood-Nymph, Woodland Skipper, Anise Swallowtail, Reakirt's Blue, Northern Cloudywing, Funereal Duskywing, Two-tailed Swallowtail, Tawny-edged Skipper, Eufala Skipper, Aphrodite Fritillary, Melissa Blue, American Branded Skipper, Juba Skipper, Arogos Skipper, Old World Swallowtail, Afranius Duskywing, Plains Branded Skipper, Dotted Roadside-Skipper, Uncas Skipper, Camillus Crescent, Common Branded Skipper, Pawnee Skipper, Panoquina ocola, Leonard's Skipper, Green Skipper, Pyrgus communis, Atalopedes campestris, Polites coras, Cynthia cardui, Speyeria edwardsii, Speyeria coronis, Speyeria aphrodite
Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee

also Western Honey Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee, Two-spotted Bumble Bee +29 more
American Bumble Bee, Tricolored Bumble Bee, Bombus fervidus, Red-belted Bumble Bee, Hunt's Bumble Bee, Two-form Bumble Bee, Half-black Bumble Bee, Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee, Northern Amber Bumble Bee, Nevada Bumble Bee, Yellow-banded Bumble Bee, Great Basin Bumble Bee, Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, Confusing Furrow Bee, Western Leafcutter Bee, Urbane Digger Bee, California Digger Bee, Indiscriminate Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Southern Plains Bumble Bee, White-shouldered Bumble Bee, Cryptic Bumble Bee, Megachile apicalis, Anthophora walshii, Carinate Armored-Resin bee, Swenk's Fairy Bee, Big-cheeked Angled-Mason, white-winged sweat bee, Melissodes sp.F1, Sonoran Bumble Bee
Flower flies Anastoechus barbatus also Villa pretiosa, Geron vitripennis, Hemipenthes sinuosus
Also visited by
- Moths:
  
  White-lined Sphinx, Salt Marsh Moth +1 more
  Dingy Cutworm Moth
- Beetles: Convergent Lady Beetle

Butterflies that use this plant

Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.

Full plant details

Where it grows

Habitat: PrairieThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: The Great Plains, the Rockies, and the Midwest and southern CanadaUnited States (18): AR, CO, IA, IL, KS, LA, MI, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NM, OK, SD, TX, WI, WY. Canada (3): AB, MB, SK. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: Alberta to New Mexico, east to Michigan, Iowa, western Missouri, Arkansas and Texas; naturalized eastwardThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Growing conditions

Light: Full sunHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: DryThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Hardiness zones: USDA 3–9 · Canadian 2–7The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
Soil: Well-drained, sandy, calcareous soilsThe soils it grows in naturally.
Soil texture: Light to medium (sandy to loamy)The soil grade it prefers, from sand to clay.
Soil pH: 6.0–7.8The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
Soil quality: MediumHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
Water use: MediumHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.
Salinity tolerance: NoneHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance: LowHow well it copes with chalky, lime-rich soil.

Growth & form

Height: up to 3 ft (to 0.9 m)Typical mature height.
Life cycle: PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
Growth rate: SlowA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
Shape: ErectIts overall silhouette.
Root depth: 14+ in (36+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.

Flowers, foliage & fruit

Type: WildflowerWhat kind of plant it is.
Bloom: Jul–OctWhen it flowers.
Flower color: Pink, PurpleThe bloom color, or colors.
Fruit/Seeds: Achene; ripens Aug–DecThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
Toxicity: None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.

Propagation & seed

Cold stratification: Required (cold, moist)Whether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
Propagation: Container, corm, seedHow to start new plants.
Seed: ~0.1 million seeds per poundNotes on the seed and how to sow it.
Seed spread rate: SlowHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
Seedling vigor: MediumHow strongly young seedlings establish.
Vegetative spread: NoneWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.