Coker's gayfeather facts for kids

Liatris cokeri, also known as Coker's gayfeather or sandhills blazing star, is a unique plant. It is part of the Liatris group and belongs to the aster family, just like daisies and sunflowers!

This plant grows naturally in the United States, specifically in North Carolina and South Carolina. You can often find it in sandy areas, like sand ridges or fields. It also likes to grow along roadsides and in forests with turkey-oak and longleaf pine-oak trees. Coker's gayfeather blooms in late summer, showing off its pretty purple flowers.

About Coker's Gayfeather

Coker's gayfeather is a special type of plant. It was first officially described in 1990 by two scientists, Milo Pyne and Jon M. Stucky. They studied the plant and gave it its scientific name, Liatris cokeri.

What It Looks Like

Liatris cokeri grows from a round, underground stem called a corm. This corm helps the plant store food.

Stems and Leaves

The plant sends up smooth stems that can be 25 to 85 centimeters tall. That's about 10 to 34 inches, or roughly the height of a small child! The leaves are long and narrow, like a spear or a line. They are mostly smooth, but sometimes have tiny hairs along their edges. As you look up the stem, the leaves gradually get smaller.

Flowers and Blooms

The flowers of Coker's gayfeather grow in tight bunches called "heads." These heads are often packed closely together, forming a spike or a long cluster. Each flower head has 4 to 9 small disc flowers, but no ray flowers (the petal-like parts you see on a daisy). The flower heads often point in the same direction, especially on branches that lean over. This plant usually blooms between August and October.

Seeds

After the flowers bloom, the plant produces seeds. These seeds are found in small, dry fruits called cypselae. Each seed is about 3 to 4 millimeters long and has feathery, bristle-like hairs on top. These hairs help the seeds float away in the wind, spreading the plant to new places.