Amsonia tomentosa |
Amsonia hubrichtii |
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gray amsonia, woolly bluestar |
Hubricht's bluestar |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| Seeds | (8–)11–17 × (3–)3.9–5.5(–6.3) mm. |
7.5–11 × 1.6–2.2 mm. |
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| 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. |
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Amsonia tomentosa |
Amsonia hubrichtii |
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| 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 |
sw United States
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AR; OK
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| 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.) |
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| Key |
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| Name authority | Torrey & Frémont in J. Frémont: Rep. Exped. Rocky Mts., 316. (1845) | Woodson: Rhodora 45: 328. (1943) | ||||
| Source | FNA vol. 14. | FNA vol. 14. | ||||
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