Dense Blazing Star is a native prairie wildflower producing showy spikes of magenta-purple flowers that open from the top down—the reverse of most flowering plants. It is one of the most important late-summer nectar plants in eastern North America, attracting enormous numbers of monarch butterflies on their fall migration. Native bees and skippers also heavily visit it.
Habitat
Moist prairies, meadows, and open wet woods in eastern and central North America
Diet
Critical migration fuel for monarchs; nectar for bees, skippers, and hummingbirds
How common
Common
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