Similar Species: Rhexia is the only genus of the Meadow Beauty family within our range. The several thousand others live mostly in the American tropics. There are about a dozen species of Rexia in the US which include the following.


Handsome Harry or Virginia Meadow Beauty (R. virginica) has an almost square stem which may be hairy or almost hairless and up to a meter tall with toothed leaves which can be ovate or elliptical and have 3 (sometimes 5) prominent veins. The flower petals are a rich pink or purple and are somewhat lopsided. There are eight prominent stamens with yellow anthers. It can be found from Ontario to Florida.
Awn-petalled Meadow Beauty (R. aristosia) is similar to above except for having narrow leaves and sharp pointed petals. It is found mostly in pine barrens.
Savannah or Smooth Meadow Beauty (R. alifanus) has a hairless stem which is often unbranched and a hairy hypantium. The anthers are curved sharply.
Yellow Meadow Beauty (R. lutea) has yellow petals and can be 40 cm (16") tall. It is found in low pinelands and bogs from Florida to Texas and as far north as North Carolina.

See the links below this image for other images. (1) © Darel Hess   E-mail      Image use policy Rhexia mariana OTHER IMAGES These images open in a new window. You may need to resize the window to view the entire image. Pale Meadow Beauty  © Paul Rebmann This specimen is from Florida and has rose purple petals. Ads on this page help pay for this site but if you see one that seems inappropriate here such as one that is counter to the pro environmental theme please let me know which Ad and I will block it. Report a Bad Ad

One of the best general guides to wildflowers of the North Eastern and North Central United States. Newcomb's key is an excellent, simple method for identifying plants. Newcomb has drawings for almost every plant mentioned that are excellent aids to identifying the species. Though only the more common plants are covered this is often the first book I pick up when trying to identify a wildflower.

Wildflo wers of Tennessee the Ohio Valley and the Southern Appalachians

This is perhaps the best of many field guides covering this region. Featuring 446 excellent color photographs (located with the text) and mentioning as similar to those illustrated are another 800 or so species for a total coverage of over 1,200 species. The start of each family section includes line drawings of some of the species showing important features. The text includes the usual description, bloom season, range, habitat and additionally includes information such as medical uses and lore and how the species was named. This is the official field guide of the Tennessee Native Plant Society.