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Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Perennial Forbs Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Hairy and hairless Woolly Bluestar

General: Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa) is an upright, perennial forb with clusters of 5-petaled, white to purple flowers and elongate leaves. There are two forms of this one species: one with bright green hairless leaves and stems, and another with hairy grayish-leaves. The genetics for hair vs. no-hair is thought to be a single gene or simple gene complex much like eye color in humans.

Woolly Bluestar is an uncommon component of desert vegetation communities on dry, well-drained sandy and gravelly sites on desert flats, in and along washes, and on bajadas into the lower mountains in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub and Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zones.

Family: Dogbane (Apocynaceae).

Other Names: Amsonia brevifolia, Dogbane

Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)

Plant Form: Several from woody taproot.

Height: About 6- to 14-inches tall.

Stems:

Leaves: Blade to 1-1/2 inches long, oblong; petiole short. Hairy or hairless

Flowers: Blooms late spring and early summer. Inflorescence: several flowers standing out from a central point. Flowers: tubular (about 3/4-inch long), white, radially symmetrical, 5 petals.

Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)

Seeds:

Habitat: Dry, well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on flats, in and along washes, on bajadas, and on moderate slopes in the lower mountains.

Elevation: About 1,000 to 6,000 feet.

Distribution: California, Nevada, and Utah.

Comments:

Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Hairless form (bright green leaves)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Hairy form (silver-green leaves)
Amsonia tomentosa (woolly bluestar)
Hairless form (bright green leaves)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Hairy form (silver-green leaves)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Hairless form (bright green leaves)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Hairy form (silver-green leaves)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Hairy form (silver-green leaves)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Hairy form (silver-green leaves)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Hairless form (bright green leaves)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Hairless form (bright green leaves)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Hairless form; ventral and dorsal surfaces (bright green leaves)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Hairless form; dorsal and ventral surfaces (bright green leaves)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Hairy form, top of leaf (silver-green leaves)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Hairy form, bottom of leaf (silver-green leaves)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa) Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa) Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Purple flowers
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
White flowers
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Developing seedpods (hairless form)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Developing seedpods (hairless form)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Developing seedpods (hairy form)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Developing seedpods (hairy form)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Ripe seedpods (hairless form)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Ripe seedpods (hairless form)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Ripe Seed pods (hairy form)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Empty seed pods (hairy form)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Empty seed pods (hairless form)
Woolly Bluestar (Amsonia tomentosa)
Empty seed pods (hairless form)

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
copyright; Last updated 220814

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