Godfrey’s blazing star
By LYNN ARTZ, DAVID RODDENBERRY, and SANDY TEDDER
Blazing stars are beautiful in the fall with star-shaped purple flowers encircling tall thin flower spikes. The nectar-rich flowers attract many butterflies including monarchs, painted ladies, fritillaries, and swallowtails. Godfrey’s blazing star (Liatris provincialis) is considered a “narrow endemic” because it is found only in southern Wakulla and Franklin counties. There it occurs mainly in the sunny, open transitions between flatwoods and sandhills or coastal scrubs. Listed as endangered by the State of Florida, coastal development and fire suppression threaten its survival. Also called Godfrey’s gayfeather, the flower buds of this species extend more perpendicularly from the main stem than on the similar Liatris chapmanii. A few Godfrey’s blazing stars grown from seeds are blooming now in the center front of the northwest garden at Sopchoppy Depot Park.
