Savanna blazing star is scattered in the Ozarks and north to Pike County. It is most similar to rough blazing star and Appalachian blazing star. Its flowerheads are large, to 1 inch wide, on stems that are about ½ to 1½ inches long and often have several small, loosely spaced, leafy bracts.
In Missouri, savanna blazing star is a relatively rare plant, listed as a species of conservation concern.
To distinguish savanna blazing star from similar-looking Missouri Liatris species, note differences in the number of florets per flowerhead, the length of flowerhead stems, the presence/numbers of leafy bracts accompanying the flowerhead stems, and the angling of the involucral bracts at the base of the flowerheads.
Key identifiers
- Stems with short, curled hairs, sometimes smooth as the base; the rootstock a corm.
- Usually blooms at about 1–6 feet tall.
- Leaves with 1 main vein, oblanceolate (reverse-lance-shaped) to oval, the largest ones at the base with a leaf stalk (petiole); the blades to about 20 inches long and 2 inches wide; the leaves becoming smaller and stalkless (sessile) up the stem; at the top of the plant, they may be mostly linear (grasslike).
- Blooms July–October.
- The flowerheads are alternate on the plant stalk, with the plant stalk easily visible between the rather loosely spaced flowerheads; the flowerhead stems often have several small, loosely spaced, leafy bracts.
- The flowerheads are large, with 29–80 florets; the flowerheads on stout, rather long stems (about ½ to 1½ inches long); the top/terminal flowerhead is usually larger than the rest.
- Involucre (receptacle at the base of the flowerhead) broadly cup- or bell-shaped.
- Involucral bracts green, widely oval, the margins pale or purple-edged, erect or ascending, the outer (lowest) row sometimes spreading or reflexed; mostly flat or only slightly swollen, not noticeably flaring outward.
Similar species: Savanna blazing star is most similar to rough blazing star and Appalachian blazing star:
- Rough blazing star (Liatris aspera) is more common; it is distinguished by its pouched or swollen-looking involucral bracts, which look irregularly torn on their edges.
- Appalachian blazing star (Liatris squarrulosa) has smaller flowerheads:
- It has 11–26 florets per flowerhead (not 29–80).
- Its flowerheads are stemless or with stems only to about ½ inch long (not ½ to 1½ inches long).
- Its flowerhead stems have a narrow, leafy bract at the base of each flowerhead where it joins the main plant stalk (not with several small, loosely spaced, leafy bracts).
- Its involucral bracts all with the tip spreading or reflexed, with only the innermost / topmost series usually ascending (not with most of them erect or ascending, with only the outer / lowest row sometimes spreading or reflexed).
For more information about Missouri’s blazing stars (Liatris), see their group page.
Height: usually about 1–6 feet.
Scattered in the Ozarks and north to Pike County. The range of this species is mostly to the north and east of Missouri.
Habitat and Conservation
Occurs in upland prairies, glades, exposed ledges and tops of bluffs, savannas, and openings of upland forests; also pastures and open, grassy, disturbed places.
Blazing stars are beloved by native wildflower gardeners, so you may find nearly any species in cultivation statewide.
Status
Native Missouri perennial wildflower. Because of its limited distribution and/or small numbers in our state, it is listed as a Missouri species of conservation concern, ranked as imperiled.
Human Connections
Savanna blazing star, with its huge, fluffy, buttonlike flowerheads and long flowering period, should be cultivated more often.
- Because this is a species of conservation concern, it’s an especially good choice as a garden ornamental. Look for it at ethical native wildflower nurseries.
- In gardens, blazing stars are a magnet for pollinators such as butterflies and bees.
- Birds feed on the seeds.
- The sweet, thickened rootstocks, however, are attractive to voles and other herbivorous mammals.
Scariosa means “thin or shriveled, membranous, scarlike,” and not green. This probably refers to the narrow, thin, pale to dark purple edges of the involucral bracts.
Ecosystem Connections
Blazing stars, like other members of the daisy-sunflower family, are visited by numerous types of pollinators and other insects. The presence of these insects draws birds and other predators, so the community of flowers is the base of a vigorous food chain.
Birds eat the fruits of blazing stars, which are like tiny sunflower seeds. Goldfinches are notable consumers of blazing stars, coneflowers, thistles, sunflowers, and sunflower-family seeds that develop in late summer as they nest late in the season. The fuzzy tufts of blazing star seeds are also used to line nests.
Mammals that eat blazing stars include rabbits, woodchuck, and deer, which graze on the aboveground parts of the plant, and voles, which gnaw on the corms or other thickened rootstocks.
Savanna blazing star, and most other blazing stars, are common in open, sunny habitats, including savannas. Only a handful of savanna landscapes remain in Missouri, surviving in patches where prairies transition into woodland.
- Savannas look a lot like prairies (which are treeless), but savannas have up to 30 percent of the land covered by trees. Savannas are often described as resembling parks or orchards.
- Like native prairies, woodlands, and glades, savannas are kept open by natural or human-caused fires.
- Without occasional disturbance, such as fire or grazing, to inhibit the encroachment of trees and other woody plants, they will eventually turn into forest, a habitat covered 100 percent by tree canopy.
- Six distinct types of savanna natural communities have been identified as once occurring in Missouri, based on the underlying rock or soil types.
- There is very little savanna left in Missouri. Some fragmented samples of former savannas are known to exist in our state.
