Liatris helleri Porter is a perennial herb endemic to high elevation rock outcrop communities in northwest North Carolina that has been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1987. The degree of relation between Liatris helleri Porter and its conger Liatris turgida Gaiser has become a point of taxonomic contention. Previous morphological and genetic studies have suggested the possibility that these taxa do not fall discretely into separate taxonomic treatments, which has led to unclear species boundaries. The current solution for this taxonomic issue has been to subsume L. turgida populations under the L. helleri epithet, with a possibility that these taxa are separable at a varietal level. This has brought L. helleri’s status of federal protection into question and resolution of this issue is needed to provide land managers and conservationists with accurate delineations of these taxa. This study provides high-resolution microsatellite data to address the degree of relation between L. helleri and L. turgida. The results of this study identify a genetically distinct metapopulation of L. helleri, areas of admixture, and genetic diversity estimates for both species. Based on these findings we argue for the continued protected status of L. helleri (with a reduced range) and for a reevaluation of the protected status of L. turgida in North Carolina
