Rhexia virginica L. var. purshii (Spreng.) C.W. James
Rhexia virginica L. var. septemnervia (Walter) Pursh
Rhexia virginica L.
Pale meadow beauty, Virginia meadow beauty, handsome harry, wing-stem meadow-pitchers
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 ⨉ ¾″ (6.3 ⨉ 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.
Habitats: Damp sandstone depressions in upland woodlands, sandy swamps, lakes, and ponds, wet to moist sand prairies, acidic gravelly seeps.
Online References:
Discover Life (Great photos)
References:
Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 122
Rhexia stricta Pursh
Rhexia virginica L. var. purshii (Spreng.) C.W. James
Rhexia virginica L. var. septemnervia (Walter) Pursh
Rhexia virginica L. var. purshii (Spreng.) C.W. James
Rhexia virginica L. var. septemnervia (Walter) Pursh
8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Massachusetts · ≈ 3 × 4½″ (8.4 × 11 cm) 
8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm) 
8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 4½″ (12 × 12 cm) 
8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm) 
7/21/2008 · By Jacquelyn Boyt 
8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 3″ (10 × 8.1 cm) 
8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 4″ (11 × 10 cm) 
8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 14 cm) 
9/26/2012 · By Jacquelyn Boyt 
8/11/2012 · By Jacquelyn Boyt 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Myrtales | Includes myrtles, leadwoods, loosestrifes, pomegranates, evening primroses, many others |
| Family | Melastomataceae | Asiatic shrubs with leathery leaves and large purple flowers followed by edible fleshy black berries |
| Genus | Rhexia | From the Greek rhexio, “rupture;” referring to the belief the plant had curative benefits for ruptures |
| Species | virginica | From Virginia |
Rhexia virginica description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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