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gray amsonia, woolly bluestar

Hubricht's bluestar

Stems

erect, 11–65 cm, glabrous or tomentose;

branches usually borne on most of stem (occasionally confined to distal portion), well exceeding infructescence.

erect, (35–)52–130 cm, glabrous;

branches borne on distal portion of stem, much exceeding infructescence.

Leaves

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 0–3(–4) mm, glabrous;

blades slightly heteromorphic;

stem leaf blades linear, (5–)7.5–11 cm × 2–3.2(–4.2) mm, margins entire, revolute, not ciliate, apex narrowly acute, surfaces glabrous or sparsely short-pubescent on midrib and veins adaxially;

branch leaf blades linear, 5–10.5 cm × (0.8–)1–1.8(–2.4) mm.

Flowers

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 narrowly deltate, 0.7–1.5 mm;

corolla tube blue (to purplish), 6–8 mm, lobes blue (to white, purplish), (4.5–)5.4–7.8 mm, outer surface of corolla glabrous.

Seeds

(8–)11–17 × (3–)3.9–5.5(–6.3) mm.

7.5–11 × 1.6–2.2 mm.

Follicles

erect (aberrantly deformed and spreading), 2–8(–9.5) cm × (4–)4.8–6.8 mm, apex acuminate, glabrous (partly tomentose).

pendulous or erect, 7.5–13.8 cm × 2.5–3.4 mm, apex acute, glabrous.

Amsonia tomentosa

Amsonia hubrichtii

Phenology Flowering spring; fruiting summer.
Habitat Stream banks, bottoms, shaley creek beds, gravel bars and spits, moist glades.
Elevation 100–400 m. [300–1300 ft.]
Distribution
map from USDA
sw United States
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
map from FNA
AR; OK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Amsonia hubrichtii resembles A. ciliata var. filifolia but is a much larger plant, with longer, adaxially lustrous leaves, and with narrower ecological preferences. It is confined to central and western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Parent taxa Apocynaceae > Amsonia > subg. Articularia Apocynaceae > Amsonia > subg. Amsonia
Sibling taxa
A. arenaria, A. ciliata, A. fugatei, A. grandiflora, A. hubrichtii, A. jonesii, A. kearneyana, A. longiflora, A. ludoviciana, A. palmeri, A. peeblesii, A. rigida, A. tabernaemontana, A. tharpii
A. arenaria, A. ciliata, A. fugatei, A. grandiflora, A. jonesii, A. kearneyana, A. longiflora, A. ludoviciana, A. palmeri, A. peeblesii, A. rigida, A. tabernaemontana, A. tharpii, A. tomentosa
Subordinate taxa
A. tomentosa var. stenophylla, A. tomentosa var. tomentosa
Key
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
Name authority Torrey & Frémont in J. Frémont: Rep. Exped. Rocky Mts., 316. (1845) Woodson: Rhodora 45: 328. (1943)
Source FNA vol. 14. Treatment authors: Linh Tõ Ngô, Wendy L. Applequist. FNA vol. 14. Treatment authors: Linh Tõ Ngô, Wendy L. Applequist.
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