[Illustration: BLUE TEXAS STAR]
Plants with milky juice; sepals usually 5; corolla tubular, 5-lobed;
stamens usually 5, inserted on corolla tube and alternate with the
lobes; ovary superior; fruit mostly of 2 spreading follicles.
Blue Texas Star. Texas Dogbane. Blue-Star (_Amsonia texana_) belongs to
a group named in honor of Charles Amson, a colonial physician. The stems
are usually unbranched, 8-12 inches high, and are covered with narrow
linear leaves. Like that of other amsonias, the tubular throat is lined
with white hairs. The name of twin-pods might be given to the amsonias.
The numerous seeds are borne in two narrow, erect pods which are united
at the base and split along the inner sides. The pods are 3-4 inches
long. The plant is perennial, growing in low clumps on limestone
hillsides of Texas. The plants in North Texas form a conspicuous
bluish-green line on low hills, when the flowers bloom in late March and
April.
The oleander, periwinkle, and vinca are well-known members of the
dogbane family. They all have a milky sap which is quite poisonous in
the oleander, Indian hemp, and others. “Bane” is the common word in
Northern Europe for “murderer” and is applied to poisonous plants.