ASTERACEAE

Liatris mucronata

Common Names: Narrow-leaf Gayfeather

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habit--Liatris is one of the showiest plants in central Texas!

heads closeup--in Liatris, ray flowers are absent, leaving only disk flowers.  Can you pick out the individual disk flowers, with their five-lobed corollas?

heads again, showing the long exserted (meaning they stick out past the end of the corolla tube) stigmas

heads again, even closer
young heads even closer, showing the involucral bracts (these are called phyllaries in Asteraceae) stem showing leaves--can you tell by looking at the leaves what kind of habitat Liatris prefers?
leaves closeup--what kind of margins are present here?  What kind of leaf shape? This is an individual "head".