Amsonia

''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.Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 156 水甘草属 shui gan cao shu ''Amsonia'' Walter, Fl. Carol. 98. 1788.
/ref> It was named in honor of the American physician John Amson. Members of the genus are commonly known as bluestars.

;SpeciesBiota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps
/ref>
# ''Amsonia ciliata'' Walter – fringed bluestar – SE US, S Great Plains
# ''Amsonia elliptica'' (Thunb. ex Murray) Roem. & Schult. – Japanese bluestar – China, Japan, Korea
# ''Amsonia fugatei'' S.P.McLaughlin – San Antonio bluestar – New Mexico
# ''Amsonia grandiflora'' Alexander – Arizona bluestar – Arizona, Sonora, Durango
# ''Amsonia hubrichtii'' Woodson – Hubricht's bluestar – Arkansas, Oklahoma
# ''Amsonia illustris'' Woodson – Ozark bluestar – Mississippi Valley, also Nevada
# ''Amsonia jonesii'' Woodson – Jones' bluestar – Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado
# ''Amsonia kearneyana'' Woodson – Kearney's bluestar – Baboquivari in Pima Co. in Arizona
# ''Amsonia longiflora'' Torr. – tubular bluestar – Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Coahuila
# ''Amsonia ludoviciana'' Vail – Louisiana bluestar – Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia
# ''Amsonia orientalis'' Decne. – European bluestar – Greece, Turkey
# ''Amsonia palmeri'' A.Gray – Palmer's bluestar – Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Sonora, Chihuahua
# ''Amsonia peeblesii'' Woodson – Peebles' bluestar – Arizona
# ''Amsonia repens'' Shinners – creeping bluestar – E Texas, SW Louisiana
# ''Amsonia rigida'' Shuttlw. ex Small – stiff bluestar – from Georgia to Louisiana
# ''Amsonia tabernaemontana'' Walter – eastern bluestar – S + C + E United States
# ''Amsonia tharpii'' Torr. & Frém. – woolly bluestar – SW US; Chihuahua

References

Apocynaceae genera

{{Apocynaceae-stub