Stokesia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae, containing the single species Stokesia laevis. Common names include Stokes' aster and stokesia.Stokesia laevis. NatureServe. 2012. The species is native to the southeastern United States.
The flowers appear in the summer and are purple, blue, or white in the wild.Stokesia L’Héritier. Flora of North America. The plant is cultivated as a garden flower. Several cultivars are available, including the cornflower blue 'Klaus Jelitto', 'Colorwheel', which is white, turning purple over time, and 'Blue Danube', which has a blue flower head with a white center.Stokesia laevis. Missouri Botanical Garden. More unusual cultivars include the pink-flowered 'Rosea' and yellow-flowered 'Mary Gregory'.Stokesia laevis. Floridata.
Like a few other plants (such as some species of Vernonia), it contains vernolic acid, a vegetable oil with commercial applications.Cahoon, E. B., et al. (2002). Transgenic production of epoxy fatty acids by expression of a cytochrome p450 enzyme from Euphorbia lagascae seed. Plant Physiology 128(2), 615-24.
The genus is named after Jonathan Stokes (1755–1831), English botanist and physician.
References
External links
Stokesia laevis. USDA PLANTS.