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Kearney's Blue Star - Amsonia kearneyana
Description: Kearney's Blue Star is a perennial herb which grows to about 2.5 feet high and three feet wide. Stems are produced from the root with alternating bright green leaves. White flowers form between April and May. The fruits develop June through August, and are dispersed by floodwater.
Habitat: The plants grow in coarse soil along a partially shaded dry wash at an elevation of 3,600 to 3,800 feet. The wash is lined with desert riparian trees and shrubs, such as Arizona walnut, catclaw acacia, and velvet mesquite. Surrounding the wash is Sonoran desert scrub and transitional grassland.
Range: A. kearneyana is found in a west facing drainage wash in the Baboquivari Mountains. Currently, only one natural population of Kearney's blue star exists in South Canyon. Sycamore Canyon in the Baboquivari Mountains once had a population in the 1940's, but is no longer found there. An introduced population in Brown Canyon was planted in 1988, 1989, and 1992. Potential habitats in the Baboquivari Mountains exist in other west-facing drainage washes.
Status: This species is listed endangered and has an approved recovery plan. The plant is threatened by habitat degradation, damage by flooding, and low reproduction rates.
Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan • Pima County Administrator’s Office • 130 West Congress, 10th floor, Tucson, AZ 85701-1317 • Phone: 520-740-8661 • http://www.SDCPonline.org
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