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.
Stem glabrous, 4-10 dm; lvs markedly punctate, linear or nearly so, 6-30 cm נ2-7(-10) mm, the margins irregularly ciliate below, the surfaces sometimes also sparsely hairy; heads sessile or on stout, often bracteate peduncles mostly under 1 cm, closely ascending or somewhat divergent, seldom fewer than 20, forming an elongate, spike-like (sometimes branched), sometimes secund infl; invol cylindric or obconic, 7-11 mm, its bracts firm, coriaceous-herbaceous, strongly punctate, obscurely scarious-margined and slightly or scarcely ciliate, with keeled or cupped, slightly spreading, often acutish (or distinctly acute) tip, the midvein commonly projecting as a short, broad, blunt mucro; fls 5-12 per head; cor 6-8 mm, hairy toward the base within; pappus barbellate; 2n=20. Pine or oak woods, especially in sandy soil; s. Va. to Ga. and S.C., mainly on the piedmont and coastal plain, seldom in the mts. Sept., Oct. Hybridizes with or passes into nos. 5 [Liatris turgida Gaiser] and 7 [Liatris graminifolia Willd.]. (Lacinaria smallii)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.