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Rhexia virginica L.

Pale meadow beauty, Virginia meadow beauty, handsome harry, wing-stem meadow-pitchers

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassMagnoliopsidaDicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
SubclassRosidaeRoses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
OrderMyrtalesIncludes myrtles, leadwoods, loosestrifes, pomegranates, evening primroses, many others
FamilyMelastomataceaeAsiatic shrubs with leathery leaves and large purple flowers followed by edible fleshy black berries
GenusRhexiaFrom the Greek rhexio, “rupture;” referring to the belief the plant had curative benefits for ruptures
SpeciesvirginicaFrom Virginia

About plant names...

Many members of this genus are tropical, but this is a North American native. Virgiinia meadow beauties prefer sun to moderate shade, acid soil, and moist to wet conditions. Henry David Thoreau once compared these fruits to little cream pitchers, hence the term “meadow-pitchers.”

Plants: 8-40″ (20-101 cm), bristly, usually unbranched except for a few flower-bearing stems near the top. Taller plants sometimes flop over along the ground. The central stem is light- to purplish-green, sharply 4-angled, with narrow wings.

Leaves: Opposite, up to 2½″ (6.3 cm) × ¾″ (1.9 cm), sharply toothed, somewhat hairy, oval or narrowly oval, and sessile (attached to the stem). Leaves have 3-5 prominent nerves.

Flowers: Stems, which are usually hairy, are topped by short cymes of attractive flowers. Flowers are 1-1½″ (2.5-3.8 cm) around, bright pink, 4-petaled, with 8 bright yellow stamens tipped by yellow or yellow-orange sickle-shaped anthers. Flowers appear July-August.

Fruits: Urn-shaped capsules, ⅛-¼″ (5.5-6.5 mm) long, with many seeds <1/32″ (1 mm) in size. Fruits appear July-September.

Online References:

Missouriplants.com (Great photos)

Discover Life (Great photos)

The Michigan Natural Features Inventory

The New England Wildflower Society’s GoBotany site

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Www.cumauriceriver.org

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 122

Rhexia virginica (pale meadow beauty, Virginia meadow beauty, handsome harry, wing-stem meadow-pitchers)

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm)

Rhexia virginica (pale meadow beauty, Virginia meadow beauty, handsome harry, wing-stem meadow-pitchers)

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm)

Rhexia virginica (pale meadow beauty, Virginia meadow beauty, handsome harry, wing-stem meadow-pitchers)

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm)

Rhexia stricta Pursh

Rhexia virginica L. var. purshii (Spreng.) C.W. James

Rhexia virginica L. var. septemnervia (Walter) Pursh

 

Rhexia virginica description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 2 Jul 2020.

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Rhexia virginica (pale meadow beauty, Virginia meadow beauty, handsome harry, wing-stem meadow-pitchers)

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm)

Rhexia virginica (pale meadow beauty, Virginia meadow beauty, handsome harry, wing-stem meadow-pitchers)

7/21/2008 · By Jacquelyn Boyt

Rhexia virginica (pale meadow beauty, Virginia meadow beauty, handsome harry, wing-stem meadow-pitchers)

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (14 × 10 cm)

Rhexia virginica (pale meadow beauty, Virginia meadow beauty, handsome harry, wing-stem meadow-pitchers)

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 4 × 6″ (11 × 16 cm)

Rhexia virginica (pale meadow beauty, Virginia meadow beauty, handsome harry, wing-stem meadow-pitchers)

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 14 cm)

Rhexia virginica (pale meadow beauty, Virginia meadow beauty, handsome harry, wing-stem meadow-pitchers)

9/26/2012 · By Jacquelyn Boyt

Rhexia virginica (pale meadow beauty, Virginia meadow beauty, handsome harry, wing-stem meadow-pitchers)

8/11/2012 · By Jacquelyn Boyt

Range:

About this map...