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Amsonia ciliata
Fringed Bluestar
Blue Dogbane
Florida native
An occasional perennial of sandhills, scrub and pine flatwoods of the Florida panhandle, northern counties and down the peninsula to Highlands County, but not appearing in any of the eastern coastal counties. The range extends through the southeastern coastal states from Alabama to North Carolina, plus Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri.
Growing to one meter (~3ft.) tall, with milky sap and numerous alternate grasslike leaves. The linear to narrowly lanceolate leaves, that are sessile near the top of the plant, help distinguish this species from A. tabernaemontana.
The pale blue or whitish flowers are star-shaped, with both the corolla and calyx having five lobes. The corolla is glabrous on the outside and hairy within. Seed pods are long, held erect and typically in pairs.
Amsonia ciliata is a member of the Apocynaceae - Dogbane family.
Other species of the Amsonia genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Amsonia tabernaemontana - EASTERN BLUESTAR
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Aug 07, 2016
