Carphephorus corymbosus

Carphephorus corymbosus, the Florida paintbrush, is an erect perennial herb of the aster family (Asteraceae) native to the southeastern United States, where it is characteristic of dry pine flatwoods, sandhills and scrub. From a basal rosette of oblanceolate to spatulate leaves it sends up a stout, leafy, often purplish stem half a metre to a metre tall, the stem leaves becoming progressively smaller and clasping upward. The stem is topped by a broad, flat-topped (corymbose) cluster of numerous small, rayless flower heads, each composed entirely of rose-purple to lavender-pink disc florets, giving the whole inflorescence the bristly, brush-like appearance that inspires the common name. Flowering occurs mainly in late summer and autumn, when the plants are conspicuous in the flatwoods. The fruit is a small, ribbed achene topped by a bristly pappus.