| Author | (L.) Willdenow | |
| Distribution | Upper Piedmont and low Mountains.
Southern Ont. to MI, south to GA, MS, and AR. Records from northeastern states are introductions. | |
| Abundance | Uncommon to common. | |
| Habitat | Montane seepage bogs, meadows, grassy balds, moist roadsides. | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting July-September. | |
| Identification | Blazing-stars typically have single stems, many slender leaves, and a terminal spike-like inflorescencxe of disk florets only. They grow from very hard, roundish, underground corms. Variety spicata grows 2-5 feet tall, 1 stem from a single corm, stems erect, lower leaves lance-shaped, mid and upper leaves gradually narrower, shorter, and stalkless. Heads are numerous in a dense spike, have 6-12 red-purple florets, and occur all round the stem. Variety resinosa differs in having leaves abruptly smaller up the stem, usually shorter involucral bracts, and usually fewer florets per head. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | Note that the distributions of the two varieties of L. spicata do not overlap in NC. Weakley (2022) elevates each to full species status, saying of form spicata: "Blooming earlier than the coastal L. resinosa, even though occurring inland, more northerly, and at higher elevations". However, the website editors will await a published journal paper before making the move.
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| Other Common Name(s) | | |
| State Rank | [S3?] | |
| Global Rank | G5T5? | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
