Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (2/8/20):
Houstonia purpurea
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Summer Bluet at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Houstonia purpurea var. purpurea
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist,1991)
Hedyotis purpurea
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 173-08-005:
Houstonia purpurea
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Houstonia purpurea
COMMON NAME:
Summer Bluet, Mountain Bluet, Woodland Bluet, Purple Bluet
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm0405w_22
May Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm120517_894
May Yancey County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm210516_0439
May Greenville County SC
)
Diane Creaton dmc03319
June Avery County NC
The Roan Highlands
)
JK Marlow jkm090610_074
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Numerous white to lavender flowers on short pedicels in terminal cyme, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians.
)
JK Marlow jkm090610_074b
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Calyx lobes 1-7mm long, per Weakley's Flora (2020).
)
JK Marlow jkm090610_074c
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Corolla tube 5-7mm long, granular to densely pubescent within, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
)
JK Marlow jkm090610_079
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Stem leaves opposite, ovate, 1-2" long, >0.5" wide, with 3-5 main veins, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians.
)
JK Marlow jkm100626_125
June Avery County NC
The Roan Highlands
Flowers funnelform & in clusters; leaves ovate-lanceolate & sessile, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains.
)
JK Marlow jkm140627_427
June Transylvania County NC
Foothills Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm0311f_03
November Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (2/8/20):
Houstonia purpurea
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Houstonia purpurea var. purpurea
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist,1991)
Hedyotis purpurea
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 173-08-005:
Houstonia purpurea
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Houstonia purpurea
699
Forb
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Common (rare in Coastal Plain)
Look for it in moist and dry woodlands and forests, roadbanks, thinner soils around rock outcrops, a variety of disturbed sites, such as paths, old roads, and roadbanks, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
...Moist
...Variable
...Dry
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite (basal leaves absent or withered at flowering)
Margins entire
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Lavender/White
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
4 sepals
4-lobed funnelform corolla
4 included stamens
FRUIT:
Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers p180
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p133
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers p070
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC p192
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p158
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p353
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p098
- Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition p179
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p237
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p264
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p306
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p165
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region p142