Gayfeather

Description:

Gayfeather, Liatris, has 1 to 3 ft tall flower spikes in vibrant purple. This late blooming perennial is an important plant for butterflies, bees, and birds. Migrating Humming birds depend on this late bloomer for nectar, and the Golden Finch and other song birds feast upon the seeds. In the fields here on the farm Black & Pipe vine Swallowtail butterflies can be seen hanging from the purple spikes in the early mornings. Gayfeather spends the first year developing deep roots, sometimes up to 16 feet long in deeper soils, and spires erupt upward from a corm that develops right underneath the surface. It might take up to two years for the flower spikes to appear but once established it flowers year after year

Habitat:

Meadow along Bittern Marsh Trail in Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area.