''Amsonia'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...
s in the
dogbane family,
Apocynaceae
Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members of the ...
, first described as a genus in 1788. It is native primarily to
North America with one species in
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...
and another in the eastern
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...
.
[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.[Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps]
/ref>[
# '']Amsonia ciliata
''Amsonia ciliata'', the fringed bluestar, is a North American species of flowering plant in the dogbane family
Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem su ...
'' 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
''Amsonia hubrichtii'', commonly known as Hubricht's bluestar, Arkansas bluestar, or thread-leaf bluestar, is a North American species of perennial flowering plant in the Apocynaceae (dogbane) family, first described in 1943. It is native to Okla ...
'' 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
''Amsonia kearneyana'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the dogbane family known by the common name Kearney's bluestar. It is native to Arizona, where there is only one native population in the Baboquivari Mountains of Pima County. There m ...
'' 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
''Amsonia orientalis'', the European bluestar, is a species of flower in the dogbane family. It is found in European Turkey, and may be extirpated from Greece. Other historical populations appear to be lost. It is threatened by habitat loss, col ...
'' 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
''Amsonia tabernaemontana'', the eastern bluestar, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, found in central and eastern North America.
Gallery
File:Amsonia tabernaemontana kz01.jpg, Detail of inflorescence
File ...
'' Walter – eastern bluestar – S + C + E United States
# ''Amsonia tharpii
''Amsonia tharpii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae known by the common names Tharp's bluestar and feltleaf bluestar. It is native to New Mexico and Texas in the United States.[Amsonia tomentosa
''Amsonia tomentosa'' is a species of flowering plant native to the southwestern United States (S California, S Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, W Texas) and northern Mexico (Chihuahua). Its common names include woolly bluestar and gray amsonia ...]
'' Torr. & Frém. – woolly bluestar – SW US; Chihuahua
References
Apocynaceae genera
{{Apocynaceae-stub