Cahaba Torch

Liatris oligocephala is known only from Bibb County.

Plants (12–)25–48(–55) cm. Corms subglobose to depressed hemispheric. Stems glabrous. Leaves: basal scalelike (usually withering before flowering), cauline 1-nerved, mostly linear, 12–20(–230) × 1.2–3(–4.5) mm, gradually reduced beyond midstem, essentially glabrous (margins ciliate). Heads borne singly or (2–10) in subcorymbiform arrays. Peduncles (5–)12–40 mm. Involucres campanulate-turbinate, 10–19(–23) × (8–)10–17(–21) mm. Phyllaries in ± 3–4 series, (green or purple) lanceolate to linear-oblong, unequal, essentially glabrous or sparsely pilose, margins with or without hyaline borders, ciliate, apices long- to short-acuminate. Florets (11–)14–21(–25); corolla tubes glabrous inside. Cypselae (3.5–)5–7 mm (glabrous); pappi: lengths ± ¹/2–²/3 corollas, bristles barbellate.

Liatris oligocephala, the Cahaba torch, is a flowering plant in the genus Liatris (blazing stars). Its native range is very small, with all known populations being within Bibb County, Alabama, and therefore the species is of conservation concern. It hybridizes with the much more common Liatris cylindracea, but the offspring do not appear to cross with L. oligocephala.