Oriental bluestar is a perennial with clusters of pale blue, star-shaped flowers in late spring. Unlike most bluestars, it isn't native to North America but comes from Japan, Korea, and China, and it doesn't grow wild in the US. Gardeners grow it, but it's still fairly rare in cultivation.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A hairless perennial with upright stems about 16–31 in (40–80 cm) tall.
- Leaves
- Alternate, lance-shaped leaves 2.5–4 in (6–10 cm) long and about 0.4–0.8 in (1–2 cm) wide. They are broader than those of most American bluestars, which is where the name elliptica ("elliptical") comes from.
- Flowers
- Many pale blue flowers, each about 0.5–0.6 in (1.3–1.5 cm) across, cluster at the stem tips. In US gardens it blooms in May and June.
- Fruit
- Pairs of slender, cylindrical pods about 2–2.4 in (5–6 cm) long.
Look-alikes
Eastern bluestarAmsonia tabernaemontana
Eastern bluestar usually has narrower leaves, while Oriental bluestar's leaves are broader and more elliptical. Even so, the two are hard to tell apart by looks alone.
Why they get mixed upBoth have similar clusters of pale blue, star-shaped flowers.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- moist grasslands
- river floodplains
- coastal grassland
- Range
- Native to Japan, Korea, and China. It does not grow wild in the US; you'll find it only in gardens and botanical collections.
- Preferred conditions
- In the wild it grows in slightly moist grasslands and riverside meadows, and in Korea on grassy coastal ground.
- Flowering
Flowers May–Jun
Flowers May–Jun
Growing it
- Care
- Hardy in USDA zones 4–8. It grows in full sun or partial shade, tolerates a range of soils, and is deer resistant.
- Propagation
- Can be grown from seed or by dividing clumps.
- Toxicity
- Like other members of the dogbane family, the whole plant contains toxic compounds. Don't eat any part of it.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
- Status
- It is declining in its native range. Japan lists it as Near Threatened, and South Korea protects it as a Class II endangered species.
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