Amsonia tomentosa
Amsonia ciliata
gray amsonia, woolly bluestar
fringe blue-star, fringe slimpod, Texas slimpod
erect, 11–65 cm, glabrous or tomentose;
branches usually borne on most of stem (occasionally confined to distal portion), well exceeding infructescence.
erect (basally ascending), (14–)15–49(–67) cm in flower, to 79 cm in fruit, glabrous or moderately pubescent;
branches borne on distal portion of stem, often but not always exceeding infructescence.
petiole 1–5 mm, glabrous or tomentose (leaves rarely sessile);
leaf blades slightly or moderately heteromorphic;
stem leaf blades ovate to narrowly lanceolate, narrowly to very narrowly elliptic, or elliptic, (2–)3–5(–6) cm × (3–)4–27 mm, margins entire, not revolute, not ciliate, apex acute (somewhat acuminate), surfaces glabrous or densely (rarely sparsely) tomentose;
branch leaf blades narrower than stem leaf blades, (2.2–)3–4.7(–5.6) cm × (2–)3–6(–13) mm.
petiole 0–4 mm, glabrous;
blades at least slightly heteromorphic or all linear;
stem leaf blades linear, ligulate, very narrowly elliptic to elliptic or very narrowly lanceolate, 2.5–6.5 cm × 3–15 mm, margins entire, slightly to strongly revolute, sometimes sparsely to moderately ciliate, apex acute to acuminate, surfaces glabrous;
branch leaf blades linear to ligulate or very narrowly elliptic, 2.5–5.6 cm × 0.3–6 mm.
sepals subulate or narrowly deltate (deltate), (2–)3.5–6(–7.5) mm;
corolla tube green to purplish or pinkish green, (7–)8–12(–13) mm, lobes bluish (violet- to lavender-tinged) to white especially after anthesis (pinkish, bluish, or purple-tinged), (2.8–)4.5–8 mm, outer surface of corolla glabrous.
sepals deltate to very narrowly deltate, 0.8–1.8(–2) mm;
corolla tube bluish, greenish above, 6–9(–10) mm, lobes blue (rarely to white, or in var. texana purplish blue), 5–9(–10) mm, outer surface of corolla glabrous (very rarely inconspicuously pubescent).
(8–)11–17 × (3–)3.9–5.5(–6.3) mm.
(5–)5.5–8(–9.3) × 1.3–2.1 mm.
erect (aberrantly deformed and spreading), 2–8(–9.5) cm × (4–)4.8–6.8 mm, apex acuminate, glabrous (partly tomentose).
erect, (5.5–)6.5–13.5cm × 2–4 mm, apex acute, glabrous.
Amsonia tomentosa
Amsonia ciliata
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Both varieties of Amsonia tomentosa have an unusual pattern of variation in pubescence. Stems and leaves are usually either densely tomentose or glabrous, with intermediate density of pubescence rare. In some populations, the two forms are found together, suggesting that indument may be a single-gene trait.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Stem leaf blades ovate to lanceolate (narrowly elliptic to elliptic), (6–)8–27 mm wide, branch leaf blades markedly narrower, 4–13 mm wide; w, s Arizona, California, Nevada. | var. tomentosa |
1. Stem leaf blades narrowly to very narrowly elliptic or narrowly lanceolate, (3–)4–8(–10) mm wide, branch leaf blades slightly narrower, (2–)3–6(–7) mm wide; n Arizona, Utah. | var. stenophylla |
1. Distal stem and branch leaf blades very narrow, 0.3–1(–1.6) mm wide (rarely to 2.4 mm if unrolled), margins usually strongly revolute. | var. filifolia |
1. Distal stem leaf blades broader than branch leaves, at least 3 mm wide, margins slightly to strongly revolute. | → 2 |
2. Stems erect, seldom somewhat ascending at base, usually pubescent, less often glabrous; stem leaf blades ligulate to very narrowly elliptic (or very narrowly lanceolate), 2.5–6.5 cm × 3–10 mm; branch leaf blades linear to ligulate (very narrowly elliptic), 3–5.6 cm × 1–3 mm; corolla lobe margins not ciliate; North Carolina to Florida and Alabama. | var. ciliata |
2. Stems basally ascending or less often erect, glabrous; stem leaf blades narrowly elliptic to elliptic (ligulate), (3–)3.5–6.5 cm × (3.3–)5–15 mm; branch leaf blades linear to very narrowly elliptic, 3.2–5.6 cm × 2–6 mm; corolla lobe margins often minutely ciliate; Oklahoma, Texas. | var. texana |
CA
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