North Carolina Wildflowers

by Jeffrey S. Pippen | Back to Jeff's Plant Page | Jeff's Nature Pages

Rubiaceae
	Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) Orange Co., NC 6 April 2005 A common harbinger of Spring in NC, bluets are often found in clearings and edges of woodlands across the state.
	Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) Orange Co., NC 6 April 2005 Occasionally, bluets are used as a nectar source by the first butterflies of Spring.
	Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) Orange Co., NC 5 April 2005 Normally, Bluet flowers have only 4 petals. Note the aberrant individual in the middle upper left with 5 petals! Also note one flower of Tiny Bluet mixed in (reddish/violet flower, see below).
	Tiny Bluet (Housonia pusilla) Orange Co., NC 5 April 2005 Found mostly in the piedmont in NC, Tiny Bluets are fairly common along the edges of and in clearings in and around woodlands & meadows.
	Thymeleaf Bluet (Houstonia serpyllifolia) Graham Co., NC 1 May 2004 Uncommon in rich woodlands in the NC mountains
	Thymeleaf Bluet (Houstonia serpyllifolia) Graham Co., NC 1 May 2004
	Venus' Pride, a.k.a. Purple Bluets (Houstonia purpurea) Clay Co., NC 14 May 2005
	Venus' Pride, a.k.a. Purple Bluets (Houstonia purpurea) Buncombe Co., NC 8 July 2006
	Poorjoe (Diodia teres) Caswell Co., NC 17 June 2006 Common statewide in NC in dry, open, often disturbed areas, this pretty little wildflower is a native.
	Poorjoe (Diodia teres) Caswell Co., NC 17 June 2006
	Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) Durham Co., NC 7/2/2005 Common and statewide in NC (although uncommon in the mountains), Buttonbush is found along creeks, reservoirs, ditches, and other wet habitats. This is a favorite nectar source for many butterflies.
	Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) Durham Co., NC 7/2/2005

Annotated habitat and distribution information listed above is from Radford, Ahles, & Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. UNC Press; and from personal observations and discussions with Will Cook, Harry LeGrand, and Bob Wilbur. Common names from personal experience and supplemented by the following resources USDA plants website, Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia, and NatureServe.