Bluestar

Threadleaf bluestar  

Common name:  Hubricht's Bluestar, Threadleaf Bluestar

Scientific name:  Amsonia hubrichtii

Family: Dogbane, Apocynaceae

Bloom period:  April to May

Where to see it:  Near the edges of the Building 1 and Village Green gardens. 

What to look for:  From spring to mid-summer, five-petaled, star-shaped, powder blue flowers are borne in clusters.  In the autumn, the fine-needled, cloud-like foliage turns bright yellow-gold in a glorious display of color lasting up to a month.

Benefit to pollinators:  The bluestar’s nectar attracts hummingbirds and long-tongued insects such as carpenter bees, hummingbird moths, and butterflies.

More information:  American biologist Leslie Hubricht (1908-2005) discovered this species of Amsonia in 1942 in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas.  The plant’s latex is somewhat toxic, making it resistant to insect pests and mammals (e.g., deer).  The Perennial Plant Association selected it as Perennial Plant of the Year in 2011.