All too often we think of wildflowers being just a spring time event. But there are many fall blooming Texas Natives that grace our roadsides, parks, gardens and rangelands. With the cooler autumn temperatures and beneficial fall rains, the hardy survivors of the harsh summer burst into bloom and cover the landscape once again with tantalizing color. One of my favorite fall blooming plants is Liatris mucronata. Also know as Blazing Star or Gayfeather. Gayfeather typically grows one to three feet tall on the surface, but this highly drought tolerant plant will have a much larger bio-mass beneath the surface. Its roots will grow down up to sixteen feet deep in search of nutrients and water. When a Gayfeather seed germinates it sometimes take two to three years for it to start to bloom, during that time it is establishing its extensive root system. Gayfeather will grow in even the poorest soil types, but prefers a well drained to slightly dry area to grow in. the long purple bloom spikes first start to appear in mid to late August and the Gayfeather will continue with its colorful show until the first hard frost, which for most of Texas is in November or December. The Gayfeather is also a very useful plant. Its large starchy potato like roots have been used for centuries as an energy packed food source. The nectar the Gayfeather provides is very important food source for the fall butterfly and hummingbird migration. The blooms make beautiful, long-lasting cut flowers for floral arrangements, as well. This plant also has a reputation as a herbal medicine that cures every thing form a sore throat to rattle snake bites. Gayfeather is a sun loving, long lived perennial plant found in the wild growing in hillsides, slopes, upland prairies and woodland edges from the deserts of Mexico to the great plains of Nebraska. It is a plant that definitely deserves a spot in most every landscape and will provide years of enjoyment to the person who provides a home for this outstanding Native plant.