Amsonia Explained

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.^[1] It was named in honor of the American physician John Amson.^[2] Members of the genus are commonly known as bluestars.

Species^{[3] [1]}

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

Notes and References

1. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=101507 Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 156 水甘草属 shui gan cao shu Amsonia Walter, Fl. Carol. 98. 1788.
2. Pringle . James S. . History and Eponymy of the Genus Name Amsonia (Apocynaceae) . SIDA, Contributions to Botany . 2004 . 21 . 1 . 379–387 . 9 November 2023 . English.
3. http://bonap.net/NAPA/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Amsonia Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps