Grassleaf Barbara's Buttons

Marshallia graminifolia grows on the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains from the Carolinas to Texas, often in bogs with pitcher plants, sundews, and orchids in open areas of pine savannas.

Typical Marshallia graminifolia has undifferentiated, ascending, and firm leaves. Plants with thinner basal leaves that tend to spread and are more strongly differentiated from the cauline leaves have been called subsp. tenuifolia; they grow mostly in Florida and Georgia and along the Gulf coastal plain to Texas.

Plants 30–80(–120) cm (aerial stems simple or branched near or proximal to middles). Leaves basal and cauline; basal petiolate; blades ± 3-nerved, oblanceolate, (2–)4–25(–34) cm × 2–13+ mm (cauline sessile, ascending, linear, sharply differentiated from basal). Heads 1–34, 20–30 mm diam. Peduncles 5–50 cm. Phyllaries 4–9.5 × 0.5–2.5 mm, (margins ± winged proximally) apices subulate. Paleae linear-attenuate, apices subulate (often gland-dotted). Corollas usually pale lavender to purple, rarely white, lobes 2.5–6 × 0.5–1 mm. Pappi: scale margins entire or denticulate. 2n = 18.

Athanasia graminifolia Walter, Fl. Carol., 200. 1788; Marshallia graminifolia subsp. tenuifolia (Rafinesque) L. E. Watson; M. lacinarioides Small; M. williamsonii Small

Marshallia graminifolia is a perennial herb species, endemic to the coastal plains of the Southern United States, where it often grows in bogs and in sunny locations. Like all species in the genus Marshallia, it has the common name Barbara's buttons, and is specifically known as grassleaf Barbara's buttons.

M. graminifolia has two accepted subspecies, M. graminifolia subsp. graminifolia, and M. graminifolia subsp. tenuifolia (commonly known as narrowleaf Barbara's buttons or slim leaf Barbara's buttons).

M. graminifolia subsp. tenuifolia grows in moist sandy habitats, such as bogs, wet savannahs and low pine woods in the south-east coastal areas of the United States, from the south coast of Georgia along the gulf coast into east Texas. It has a deep taproot, lavender to white flowers and an achene fruit. The disc shaped flowers are fragrant.