Florida blazing star facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Florida blazing star |
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Liatris ohlingerae is a special and rare flowering plant. It belongs to the aster family. People call it by many names, like Florida blazing star or sandtorch. This plant grows only in Florida, United States. You can find it on the Lake Wales Ridge. Many other rare plants also live there. Sadly, this plant is in danger. Its home is shrinking or getting damaged. Because of this, the government lists it as an endangered species.
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What is the Florida Blazing Star Like?
This plant is a perennial herb. This means it lives for many years. It grows from a round, underground stem called a corm. The plant can reach from 30 centimeters to one meter tall. Its leaves are long and thin. The longest leaves are near the bottom. They can be up to 15 centimeters long.
Flowers and How They Look
The plant has a special flower cluster. It is called an inflorescence. Each cluster has many small flowers. These are called disc florets. There can be up to 30 of them. Green leaf-like parts surround the flowers. These parts are called phyllaries. They have purple edges. The flowers themselves are lavender tubes.
Where Does the Florida Blazing Star Live?
This plant grows in a special place. It lives in Florida scrub habitat. This habitat is found on the Lake Wales Ridge. This area is in Central Florida. The plant likes open, sunny spots. Here, sunlight can reach the ground. It often grows under Florida rosemary bushes. These bushes are called Ceratiola ericoides.
How it Survives in its Habitat
The Florida blazing star is quite tough. It can grow even near Florida rosemary bushes. These bushes make chemicals. These chemicals usually stop other plants from growing. But the blazing star seems to be resistant. It can handle these chemicals.
How the Florida Blazing Star Reproduces
Butterflies help this plant make new seeds. They carry pollen from one flower to another. This is called pollination. This help is very important. The plant cannot fertilize itself. This means it needs butterflies to reproduce. The Florida blazing star lives for a long time. It often lives for more than nine years.
Challenges the Plant Faces
Animals often eat parts of this plant. This is called herbivory. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) eat the plant's tops. This reduces how many flowers it can make. Small insects also eat the flower buds. They can eat up to 30% of them. After the seeds fall, many are eaten. Insects and other animals eat them.
Protecting the Florida Blazing Star
In 2009, there were 91 known groups of these plants. Some of them grow on protected land. This means their homes are safe from building or farming. But even protected land needs care. Florida scrub habitat needs natural fires. These fires help the ecosystem stay healthy. If a fire burns, this plant can grow back. It resprouts from its underground corm.
See also
In Spanish: Liatris ohlingerae para niños
