I'm a native perennial wildflower, 2 to 4 feet tall. In open areas, I branch out and have a bushy appearance. My leaves can be simple, opposite, whorled or alternate. My flowers are ½ to ¾ inches across, consisting of a tubular corolla with five widely spreading lobes. I have a very short calyx with five triangular teeth. My corolla is mostly pale blue and its lobes are narrow and starlike. My blooms appear from mid-spring to early summer and last for about a month. They are beautiful, but have no scent.
Each of my fertilized flowers are replaced by a pair of cylindrical follicles, which are four to five inches long. Each follicle contains a single row of small cylindrical seeds. By splitting along one side, I reseed myself. My root system consists of a tap root. I can grow in moderate sun to deep shade, and I like moist soil, making me ideal for rain gardens.
My flowers attract ruby-throated hummingbirds and long-tongued insects such as the large carpenter bees, hummingbird moths, and many butterflies. My foliage contains a white latex that is toxic to mammalian herbivores. I share this toxicity with one of my much larger cousins, the oleander.
One of my relatives grows on the shady side of one of the log cabins at the Caroline Dorman Nature Preserve. Another colony exists in a wet meadow near the Lafayette Visitor's Center. I have no serious insect or disease problems. I am normally available only in native plant outlets, or as a pass-a-long plant through clump divisions and seeds.
Do you know what plant I am?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Each of my fertilized flowers are replaced by a pair of cylindrical follicles, which are four to five inches long. Each follicle contains a single row of small cylindrical seeds. By splitting along one side, I reseed myself. My root system consists of a tap root. I can grow in moderate sun to deep shade, and I like moist soil, making me ideal for rain gardens.
My flowers attract ruby-throated hummingbirds and long-tongued insects such as the large carpenter bees, hummingbird moths, and many butterflies. My foliage contains a white latex that is toxic to mammalian herbivores. I share this toxicity with one of my much larger cousins, the oleander.
One of my relatives grows on the shady side of one of the log cabins at the Caroline Dorman Nature Preserve. Another colony exists in a wet meadow near the Lafayette Visitor's Center. I have no serious insect or disease problems. I am normally available only in native plant outlets, or as a pass-a-long plant through clump divisions and seeds.
Do you know what plant I am?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Credit: Courtesy George H. Bruso, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Amsonia tabernaemontana Eastern Bluestar, Dogbane
RSS Feed