Blazing Star, also called Gayfeather, is a hardy wildflower that can live for decades in Colorado’s semi-desert climate. Rising up to 4’ tall each autumn, its bright purple flowers act as magnets for monarchs, birds and busy bees, long after other summer blooms have dried up.
Native to North America where it grows from central Canada to northern Mexico, this plant is commonly found along the interface of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains, extending eastward into the prairie states and provinces. Blazing Star grows well in Boulder County, where dense clay soils make it difficult for water to soak into the ground quickly. What makes this native plant so successful also makes it beneficial to the ecosystem. Blazing Star has a deep root system that can allow surrounding soils to absorb and retain water. Its thick root may reach 16 feet deep, making it resistant to drought. (As native vegetation is replaced with popular turf grasses, less stormwater is absorbed into the ground, leading to more runoff, water pollution and potential flooding).
Technically, the ‘root’ of Blazing Star is a corm, a modified stem adapted to store food that is sometimes confused with a bulb. A corm is solid, in contrast, a bulb is a modified bud made up of layers of scales and leaves as in an onion. The plant kingdom has evolved many different forms and structures to survive; adaptations that allow a plant to extend its reach (literally) into the surrounding environment without moving from its fixed spot on the earth.
Common name: Blazing Star
Scientific name: Liatris punctata
Catalog number: UCM Herbarium “COLO” No. 549463
Label data: Yuma County, CO
Collector: Dina Clark