Amsonia

bluestars
Amsonia tabernaemontana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Rauvolfioideae
Tribe: Amsonieae
M.E.Endress
Genus: Amsonia
Walter[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Ansonia Raf.
Single paired follicle (i.e. V-shaped pair of follicles) detached from specimen of Amsonia tabernaemontana

Amsonia is a genus of flowering plants in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1788. It is native primarily to North America with one species in East Asia and another in the eastern Mediterranean.[2][3] It was named in honor of the American physician John Amson.[4] Members of the genus are commonly known as bluestars.[5]

Species[2][6][3]
  1. Amsonia ciliata Walter – fringed bluestar – SE US, S Great Plains
  2. Amsonia elliptica (Thunb. ex Murray) Roem. & Schult. – Japanese bluestar – China, Japan, Korea
  3. Amsonia fugatei S.P.McLaughlin – San Antonio bluestar – New Mexico
  4. Amsonia grandiflora Alexander – Arizona bluestar – Arizona, Sonora, Durango
  5. Amsonia hubrichtii Woodson – Hubricht's bluestar – Arkansas, Oklahoma
  6. Amsonia illustris Woodson – Ozark bluestar – Mississippi Valley, also Nevada
  7. Amsonia jonesii Woodson – Jones' bluestar – Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado
  8. Amsonia kearneyana Woodson – Kearney's bluestar – Baboquivari in Pima Co. in Arizona
  9. Amsonia longiflora Torr. – tubular bluestar – Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Coahuila
  10. Amsonia ludoviciana Vail – Louisiana bluestar – Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia
  11. Amsonia orientalis Decne. – European bluestar – Greece, Turkey
  12. Amsonia palmeri A.Gray – Palmer's bluestar – Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Sonora, Chihuahua
  13. Amsonia peeblesii Woodson – Peebles' bluestar – Arizona
  14. Amsonia repens Shinners – creeping bluestar – E Texas, SW Louisiana
  15. Amsonia rigida Shuttlw. ex Small – stiff bluestar – from Georgia to Louisiana
  16. Amsonia tabernaemontana Walter – eastern bluestar – S + C + E United States
  17. Amsonia tharpii Woodson – feltleaf bluestar – W Texas, SE New Mexico
  18. Amsonia tomentosa Torr. & Frém. – woolly bluestar – SW US; Chihuahua
  1. ^ "Genus: Amsonia Walter". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2003-03-14. Archived from the original on 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
  2. ^ a b c "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families". Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 156 水甘草属 shui gan cao shu Amsonia Walter, Fl. Carol. 98. 1788.
  4. ^ Pringle, James S. (2004). "History and Eponymy of the Genus Name Amsonia (Apocynaceae)". SIDA, Contributions to Botany. 21 (1): 379–387. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Amsonia". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
  6. ^ Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps