Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures by color ( Purple ), 0 by htop

htop wrote:
Stiff Aster, Bristly Aster, Flaxleaf Whitetop, Flax Leaf Ankle Aster, Savoryleaf Aster, Pine Starwort (Ionactis linariifolius, Synonym: Aster lateriflorus), Asteraceae Family, Texas native, perennial, blooms late summer through October

This aster inhabits dry clearings, sandy woods, rocky slopes, rocky stream beds and prairies. A durable plant, it prefers only full sun and it thrives in acidic, sandy soils. It withstands drought as well as seasonal flooding. It usually attains a height between 12 and 24 inches and a width of 6 to 12 inches. It forms stiff, rounded clumps. The dark, shiny leaves resemble small yew leaves or linaria leaves. This explains its species name "linariifolius" which means "leaves like Linaria". The leaves are in whorls that are at right angles to the stem. The pale blue-purple flowerheads are 3/4 to 1 inch across with a disk that starts out yellow and then turns red-orange as the bloom matures. They are produced at the ends of ascending stems and are great cut flowers. To encourage bushiness and more blooms, shear off the top half of the plant in early June.

Because it is a long-blooming, showy, compact aster, it is an excellent choice for the rock garden and native garden. Plus, it attracts butterflies. It looks great massed in groups or used as a border plant. Be sure that the soil in which it is planted is well drained.

For more information see entry in the PlantFiles:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2419/index.html

This is a photo of the lone bloom on the plant; although, it had many bloom buds. Sadly, as with the plant above, it was killed during the construction of a Hobby Lobby right after the photo was taken. I wish that I could have saved it and the other plants; but, at least I saved it in a photo.