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THICKSPIKE 

GAYFEATHER 

Liatris pycnostachya Michx.

Plant Symbol = LIPY

Contributed by: USDA NRCS Plant Materials 

Center, Manhattan, Kansas 

R. Alan Shadow, USDA NRCS East Texas PMC, Nacogdoches, 

Texas. 

Alternate Names 

Tall gayfeather, prairie gayfeather, blazing star, 

prairie blazing star, and hairy button snakeroot, 

Kansas gayfeather 

Uses 

Cattle graze thickspike gayfeather and it is 

considered a decreaser in pastures under heavy 

grazing pressure (Menhusen 1973). Thickspike is a 

particularly beautiful member of the genus Liatris

with its height and large sized flowering spike. These 

flowering spikes make long lasting cut flowers since 

the heads will proceed to open just as if they were 

still on the plant. If the spike is air dried rapidly in the 

dark the flowering spike will retain much of its color 

and can be used in attractive dry plant arrangements. 

Kindscher (1992) indicated that the corm of 

thickspike was used by Native Americans and others 

to treat gonorrhea. Art (1991) indicated that it could 

be used to treat kidney diseases. Birds use the seed 

for food and rodents eat the corms. Thickspike 

gayfeather can be used for roadside and park 

beautification, prairie restoration, wildlife cover and 

food, landscaping, and to increase plant diversity in 

natural and man made prairie communities. 

Status 

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State 

Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s 

current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, 

state noxious status, and wetland indicator values). 

Description 

General: Thickspike gayfeather belongs to the 

sunflower or composite family (Asteraceae). Liatris 

pycnostachya is a tall, hardy, native perennial 

herbaceous species that has spectacular magenta 

inflorescences. Single to multiple stems arise from a 

solid corm that is 7 to 10 cm in diameter and supports 

the plants deep, fibrous root (5 to 15 common) 

system. The simple non-branched stems are up to 1.5 

meters tall. The species narrow, dark green leaves 

have a light colored mid-rib and are alternately 

arranged on the stem. The numerous basal leaves are 

the longest and they gradually shorten in length 

farther up the stem. Both stems and leaves normally 

display short, stiff hairs. The inflorescence is a long 

spike of sessile cylindrical heads 8 to 11 mm tall. The 

flower heads have 5 to 7 individual rose-purple 

flowers, each with 5 long, slender, pointed petals or 

bracts which tend to spread and curve back toward 

their bases. Bracts of this species may have a purplish 

tinge. The flowers are given a somewhat fuzzy 

appearance by extended white stamens (male flower 

parts) and pistils (female flower parts). The spike 

itself may be up to 60 cm of the stem length. The 

flowers bloom from the top down so flowering 

covers an extended period of time. The flowers are 

cross pollinated with bumble bees and native 

pollinators doing most of the work. The fruit of 

thickspike gayfeather is a narrow, brownish, 10 

ribbed achene that is 5 to 6 mm long, with tufts of 

bristles longer than the achene attached to its upper 

end. The seed heads should be harvested in the fall 

after they appear dry and fluffy, but before they are 

blown away by the wind. There are 333,000 achenes 

per kg of seed or about 131,000 seed units per pound 

of thickspike gayfeather. 

Distribution: For current distribution, please consult 

the Plant Profile page for this species on the 

PLANTS Web site. This plant ranges from Kentucky 

to Minnesota and eastern North Dakota south from 

there to Louisiana and eastern Texas. It grows 

naturally in the eastern 1/3 of Kansas. 
Habitat: Thickspike gayfeather grows best in low, 

moist, tallgrass prairies that are dominated by big 

bluestem (Andropogon gerardii). It may grow near 

the base of slopes since it requires more water than 

many of the other members of the genus Liatris. Art 

(1991) reported that gayfeather grew best on moist, 

well drained, and slightly acidic to neutral (pH 5.5 to 

7.0) soils. Weaver and Fitzpatrick (1934) found it on 

56 percent of low prairies and only 25 percent of 

upland prairies that they studied. 

Adaptation 

Weaver (1954) indicated that Liatris pycnostachya

was characteristic of areas supporting big bluestem 

and was rarely found in much drier or much wetter 

grassland areas. This species of Liatris is probably 

the least drought tolerant and may need to be 

supplemented with irrigation to bloom vigorously in 

very dry weather. 

Establishment 

Thickspike gayfeather is established in field and 

prairie restoration projects easiest from seed. A firm, 

clean, weed free seedbed should be prepared by 

disking, harrowing, and cultipacking the planting site. 

Chemical weed control can be used to reduce 

competition and limit the competition from perennial 

weed species. Seedbed should be firm enough to 

allow planting of the seed units at a depth of 6 mm. 

A drill equipped with a legume seed box and depth 

bands would allow for good depth placement of the 

seed unit and good seed to soil contact. A seeding 

rate of 30 Pure Live Seed (PLS) units per 30 cm of 

row should provide a consistent full stand. To plant a 

prairie restoration or diverse wildlife planting a 

seeding rate of 65 gm PLS per ha incorporated into 

the seeding mixture would be acceptable. Application 

of fertilizer the year of establishment is discouraged 

unless phosphorous and potassium are at extremely 

low levels on your soil test for the planting site. 

Absolutely no nitrogen fertilizer should be applied 

the first year to discourage weed competition from 

annual weed species. 

 

Management

Mowing can be used to reduce weed competition in 

newly established fields as long as mower height is 

kept above seedling height. Cultivation and 

herbicides can be used if gayfeather is planted in 

rows for seed production. Dead plant residue can be 

burned if done prior to plant growth in the spring. A 

non-selective herbicide (i.e. Roundup) can be used in 

the spring to remove early cool season species before 

plant regrowth begins. 

Pests and Potential Problems 

Rabbit protection might be required for gayfeather 

seedlings and newly developing shoots in the spring. 

Thickspike gayfeather stems tend to lodge in a 

monoculture situation. In a natural prairie setting 

other grass and forb plants tend to support the stems 

and keep them upright. 

Environmental Concerns 

Thickspike gayfeather does not spread vegetatively 

and seedlings are easy to control and maintain. 

Seeds and Plant Production 

Thickspike gayfeather can be propagated by seed or 

division of its corm. Art (1991) divided the corm 

vertically into pieces which each contained at least 

one bud. Plant the divided corm vertically with 30 to 

60 cm spacing between individuals and the bud 5 cm 

below the soils surface. Seed propagation is easier 

than vegetative although the seed units require 

stratification. Seed germination will improve with 

aging of the seed for at least three years beyond the 

harvest date. Hesse (1973) obtained the best 

germination (up to 85%) with gayfeather seed units 

after 15 weeks of cold, moist stratification treatment. 

Stratified seed can be planted in the early spring or 

summer and non-stratified seed can be planted in the 

fall (Platt and Harder 1991). Seedlings can be started 

in greenhouses from stratified seed to produce 

transplants. Seed units planted 6 mm deep in flats can 

be transplanted out doors in 8 to 12 weeks. Some 

nurseries plant seed in June to have corms to 

transplant in a dormant state the following spring. 

Seed fields can be harvested by direct combining and 

seed processed using a scalper and fanning mills. The 

seed units (achenes) are run through a hammer mill to 

remove the tuft of bristles. Manhattan Plant Materials 

Center (PMC) production records indicate that a 

purity of 97 to 99 percent is normal with a 

germination percentage of 29 to 71 and dormancy 

number of between 3 and 22 percent depending on 

the year. An eight year average of seed production 

yield indicates that 73 kg per ha was produced at 

Manhattan, Kansas. 

 

Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and 

area of origin) 

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation 

Service office for more information. Look in the 

phone book under “United States Government.” The 

Natural Resources Conservation Service will be 

listed under the subheading “Department of 

Agriculture.” 

‘Eureka’ thickspike gayfeather is a cooperative 

cultivar release by the USDA-NRCS Manhattan Plant 
Materials Center (PMC) and the Nebraska 

Agricultural Experiment Station in 1975. The original 

collections of Eureka were made in November 1970 

in Greenwood County, Kansas. Plant height, vigor 

and stand of Eureka were consistently superior to the 

collections of materials it was tested against. Eureka 

is adapted to the eastern 1/3 of Kansas, western 

Missouri, southeastern Nebraska, northeastern 

Oklahoma, and southwestern Iowa. This species is 

used in range reseeding mixtures, roadside and park 

beautification and wildlife habitat enhancement. 

Foundation class seed is available from USDA, 

NRCS PMC at Manhattan, Kansas. 

 

Central Iowa Germplasm and Northern Iowa 

Germplasm are source identified releases made in 

1999 by the Elsberry PMC in cooperation with Iowa 

Department of Transportation, University of 

Northern Iowa, Iowa Crop Improvement Association, 

and the Native Roadside Vegetation Center in Cedar 

Falls, IA. In 2001, the Elsberry PMC released the 

additional source identified lines Southern Iowa 

Germplasm with all the same cooperators and 

Northern Missouri Germplasm and Western Missouri 

Germplasm in cooperation with the Missouri 

Department of Conservation and the Missouri 

Audubon Society of Jefferson City, Missouri. G1 

class seed is being produced in limited quantities by 

the USDA, NRCS PMC at Elsberry, Missouri. 

References 

Art, H.W. 1991. The Wildflower Gardener’s Guide: 

Midwest, Great Plains, and Canadian Prairies

Edition. Storey Communications Inc., Pownal. 

Vermont. 

Hesse, M. C. 1973. Germination of seven species of 

wildflowers as affected by different pregermination 

conditions. Nebraska Department of Roads, Interim

Report HPR-1(10). 

 

Kindscher, K. 1992. Medicinal Wild Plants of the 

Prairie. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, 

Kansas. 

Menhusen, B.R. 1973. Ecology of the Prairie Species 

of the Genus Liatris. Pp 60-62. In Hulbret (ed.) Third

Midwest Prairie Conference Proceedings. Division 

of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, 

Kansas. 

Platt, D.R. and L. H. Harder. 1991. Growing Native 

Wildflowers. The Kansas Wildflower Society 

Handbook. Kauffman Museum, Bethel College. 

Newton, Kansas. 

Weaver, J.E. and T.J. Fitzpatrick. 1934. The Prairie. 

Ecological Monographs 4(2): 109-295. 

Weaver, J.E. 1954. North American Prairie. Lincoln, 

NE: Johnsen Publishing Co. 

Prepared By 

Richard Wynia, USDA NRCS Manhattan Plant 

Materials Center, Manhattan, Kansas 

Species Coordinator 

Jerry Kaiser, USDA NRCS Elsberry Plant Materials 

Center, Elsberry, MO 

Edited: 080317 jsp 

For more information about this and other plants, please contact 

your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the 

PLANTS Web site<http://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials 

Program Web site <http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov> 

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