Marshallia caespitosa aka Puffballs

Marshallia caespitosa is known as Barbara's buttons. It is a perennial, a plant that lives for years. It belongs to Asteraceae, the aster family. Its native range spans the central United States to western Louisiana. It grows in parts of the south-central United States. In the wild, it grows in limestone glades. It also grows on bare rock and in sandy soil. These sites include shallow, rocky ground and dry places.

This plant has soft growth, not woody branches. It grows in clumps. In gardens, it reaches about 1.5 feet (0.46 metres) tall. It spreads about 1 foot (0.3 metres) wide. Its narrow leaves range from linear to lance-shaped. This means they are straight-sided or shaped like a lance. They reach about 0.33 feet (0.10 metres) long. Long, thin, stiff flower stalks rise above the clump. Stalks reach a reported height of about 1.3 feet (0.41 metres). The plant's small size suits the front of a planting.

Flowers bloom from April to June, from spring into early summer. Each stalk bears one dense flower head at its tip. The round heads form domes that look like pincushions. Each head spans about 0.08 feet (0.025 metres). Many tiny flowers, called florets, form each head. They range from white to white with pink tints. The heads are discoid: they have disk florets only. They lack the ray florets that edge many daisy heads. The blooms give the plant its main garden show.

Grow this species in full sun or partial shade. It grows in many soil types that drain well. The soil can range from evenly moist to dry. Once plants take root, they cope with some drought and dry soil. In all these soils, water must drain well. Missouri Botanical Garden lists it for USDA zones 5–8. It needs little care and is easy to grow. Where conditions suit it, it can spread from self-sown seed.

Use Barbara's buttons in limestone rock gardens or narrow rock cracks. It also suits border fronts and native wildflower gardens. Where conditions suit it, gardeners can let it spread and naturalize. It copes with shallow, rocky soil, which suits these uses. Missouri Botanical Garden reports no serious insect or disease problems. The supplied evidence gives no details on edible parts or toxicity.