Amsonia tomentosa
Amsonia tomentosa var. stenophylla
gray amsonia, woolly bluestar
woolly bluestar
erect, 11–65 cm, glabrous or tomentose;
branches usually borne on most of stem (occasionally confined to distal portion), well exceeding infructescence.
leaves: petiole 1–2(–3) mm (leaves rarely sessile);
blade narrowly to very narrowly elliptic or narrowly lanceolate, (2.4–)2.8–5(–6) cm × (3–)4–8(–10) mm, base cuneate (narrowly convex).
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.
blades ligulate to very narrowly elliptic, (2.4–)3–4.7(–5.6) cm × (2–)3–6(–7) 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.
lobes bluish white to white, blue-violet, or blue-lavender.
(8–)11–17 × (3–)3.9–5.5(–6.3) mm.
erect (aberrantly deformed and spreading), 2–8(–9.5) cm × (4–)4.8–6.8 mm, apex acuminate, glabrous (partly tomentose).
Amsonia tomentosa
Amsonia tomentosa var. stenophylla
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.)
Some specimens of var. stenophylla have characters reminiscent of Amsonia arenaria (patchy calyx or fruit indument or flowers said to be somewhat purplish), but on balance, these populations seem to be more naturally grouped with A. tomentosa (see discussion under A. arenaria). Two specimens identified with var. stenophylla from near the putative boundary between its range and that of var. tomentosa have very broad stem leaves (to 15 mm), indicating a likelihood of gene flow or incomplete separation between the two varieties. The synonym A. eastwoodiana was based on a combination of fruiting material of var. stenophylla and flowering material of A. peeblesii but was usually used for populations of var. stenophylla (S. P. McLaughlin 1982).
(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 |
CA
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