King’s Mountain or piedmont gayfeather

Lacinaria smallii Britton; Liatris graminifolia Willdenow var. racemosa (de Candolle) Venard; L. graminifolia var. smallii (Britton) Fernald & Griscom; L. graminifolia var. virgata (Nuttall) Fernald; L. regimontis (Small) K. Schumann; L. spicata (Linnaeus) Willdenow var. racemosa de Candolle

Plants 35–75 cm. Corms mostly globose. Stems glabrous. Leaves: basal and proximal cauline 1-nerved, narrowly oblanceolate, (50–)90–150 × (2–)4–9(–12) mm wide, usually abruptly, sometimes gradually, reduced distally, glabrous or sparsely pilose (abaxially), gland-dotted (proximal margins sparsely pilose-ciliate). Heads in loose, racemiform to spiciform arrays (not secund, internodes 6–20 mm). Peduncles 0 or (ascending) mostly 2–12 mm. Involucres campanulate-cylindric, (6–)7–9 × 3.5–4.5(–5) mm. Phyllaries usually in 3–5(–6) series, in 5–6(–7) series in largest heads, ovate-triangular to oblong, unequal, glabrous, margins with narrow, hyaline borders (lacking at apices), sometimes sparsely ciliolate, apices acute to obtuse-angled (with thickened, not markedly involute, apicula). Florets 7–10(–12); corolla tubes pilose inside. Cypselae (2–)3–4 mm; pappi: lengths ± equaling corollas, bristles barbellate. 2n = 20.

Flowering (Jul–)Aug–Oct(–Nov). Edges of swampy woods, stream margins, slopes, clearings, edges of upland woods, rocky woods, pine-oak woods, mixed deciduous woods, roadsides, Iredell soils, clays; 50–1000 m; Ga., N.C., S.C., Va.

Liatris virgata is characterized by its non-congested arrangement of heads, often on a slightly zigzag axis, and especially by its relatively thickened phyllaries with angled apices (acute to obtuse-apiculate). The name Liatris regimontis has been misapplied to the species now identified as L. cokeri.