USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCsWetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Where Commonly Found: Meadows, fields, shores of rivers and lakes, wetlands, MA, NY.
How to Identify:
(For unfamiliar words: Wikipedia Glossary of Botanical Terms).
Go Botany Key to Amsonia tabernaemontana
Missouri Botanical Garden Site for Amsonia tabernaemontana. Click on more images.
Flower Color: Steel blue.
Flower Type: Radially symmetrical with petals fused into a cup or tube, 5 stamen. Each flower is .5″-.75″ across with a tubular corolla of 5 spreading lobes, star-like, and a short calyx with 5 rectangular teeth,
Flower Time: May
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate, one leaf per node along the light green stem.
Leaf Type: Simple, entire leaves, bright green and glabrous on upper surface and pale green under, with no teeth or lobes, ovate to narrowly ovate, 6″ long and 2.25″ wide.
Height: 2′-3”
Seed Collection: Thin follicles turn tan when mature with corky cinnamon colored seeds. Dry and store in sealed container in the refrigerator. Good for 4 years.
Attracts: Butterflies, Hummingbirds
Use: Garden
Light: Full Sun to Full Shade
Hardiness Zone: 3 to 9 USDA Zone Map
Soils: Dry to Moist
Notes: A beautiful and versatile perennial that, like Baptisia australis, gives a shrub-like appearance and is a nice addition to any garden setting. Though not particularly attractive to bees, Bluestar draws in many butterflies and moths.
Native to NY, MA lower Midwest and South: Biota of North America Program (BONAP) – North American Plant Atlas (NAPA).
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