Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (10/20/20):
Houstonia serpyllifolia
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Thymeleaf Bluet at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Houstonia serpyllifolia
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist,1991)
Hedyotis michauxii
SYNONYMOUS WITH Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Hedyotis michauxii
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 173-08-002:
Houstonia serpyllifolia FAMILY Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Houstonia serpyllifolia
COMMON NAME:
Thymeleaf Bluet, Appalachian Bluet, Prostrate Bluet, Marsh Bluet
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_hose2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm060429_125
April Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm060429_125b
April Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
Blue-violet with a light yellow eye, 0.4"-0.5" across, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm100422_051
April Pickens County SC
Laurel Fork Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm230420_2725
April Greenville County SC
Watson-Cooper Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm230420_2733
April Greenville County SC
Watson-Cooper Heritage Preserve
The opposite leaves on the horizontal and vertical stems are ovate and barely 1/10" long, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
JK Marlow jkm060513_026
May Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
The prostrate stems have numerous roundish leaves under 1/4", per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm160503_252
May Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
The flowers, one per stalk, are like those of H. caerulea but richer, more medium blue in color, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
JK Marlow jkm160503_253
May Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm190719_9939
July Transylvania County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
Leaves are opposite, short-stalked, rounded to ovate, on creeping stems, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm190914_1565
September Swain County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Tim Spira tpshserpyllifolia
Month Unknown
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (10/20/20):
Houstonia serpyllifolia
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Houstonia serpyllifolia
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist,1991)
Hedyotis michauxii
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Hedyotis michauxii
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 173-08-002:
Houstonia serpyllifolia
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Houstonia serpyllifolia
701
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Streambanks, grassy balds, moist forests, seepy rock outcrops, spray cliffs, and moist disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
Margins entire
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Blue
Eye: Yellow/White
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
4 sepals
4-lobed salverform corolla
4 included stamens
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p180
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p070
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p113
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p156
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p421
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p098
- Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: Northeastern US (Clemants & Gracie, 2006) p038
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p320
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p263
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p307
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p387
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p165