Common names:
Woolly bluestar, gray amsonia, small leaved amsonia
Family:
Scientific name:
Amsonia tomentosa
Main flower color:
Range:
The Mojave Desert, north Arizona and southeast Utah, plus parts of New Mexico and far west Texas
Height:
Up to 2 feet
Habitat:
Well-drained, desert or semi-desert locations; plains, washes
Leaves:
Lanceolate, grey-green, alternate, one inch or more in length
Season:
March to June
Amsonia tomentosa produces attractive, rounded clusters of around a dozen flowers, borne on short, thick stems. Each flower consists of a green corolla tube (nearly an inch in length), ringed by narrow, purplish bracts, opening out into five, pointed lobes, colored white, pale pink or bluish white; yellowish-green at the base. Buds are pinkish, and the lobes become darker as they wither. Leaves are green, either bright green and hairless or grey-green with a dense covering of fine hairs.
The species is generally uncommon but can be abundant in favorable locations, especially sandy or gravelly places along washes or on desert plains, up to 5,500 feet elevation.
The species is generally uncommon but can be abundant in favorable locations, especially sandy or gravelly places along washes or on desert plains, up to 5,500 feet elevation.
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