West Indian Meadow-beauty

Rhexia cubensis

Found in depression ponds and limesinks; wet meadows; swamps; Coastal Plain hammocks; ponds, lakes and their shores; pine savannas; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

Good

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height: Up to about 2 feet
Light: Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Moist to wet

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Rhexia cubensis — bloom photograph — (c) Kristof Zyskowski, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Bloom: June to September

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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 4 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 7

Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Regional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

Coastal Plain hammocks

Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 87 animals.

Double-crested Cormorant
Phalacrocorax auritus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Downy Woodpecker
Picoides pubescens
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eastern Kingbird
Tyrannus tyrannus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eastern Screech-owl
Megascops asio
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eastern Towhee
Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eastern Wood-pewee
Contopus virens
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eurasian Collared-dove
Streptopelia decaocto
Birds. 1 shared habitat
European Starling
Sturnus vulgaris
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Fish Crow
Corvus ossifragus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Regulus satrapa
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Great Crested Flycatcher
Myiarchus crinitus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Great Horned Owl
Bubo virginianus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Hairy Woodpecker
Picoides villosus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Hermit Thrush
Catharus guttatus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Hooded Merganser
Lophodytes cucullatus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Hooded Warbler
Wilsonia citrina
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Least Flycatcher
Empidonax minimus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Lesser Scaup
Aythya affinis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Mourning Dove
Zenaida macroura
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
Birds. 1 shared habitat

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Rhexia

Chloridea subflexaSubflexus Straw, Groundcherry Sun Moth
Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
Cymatophora approximariaLarge Scalloped-Wing, Giant Grey
Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
Scopula limboundataLarge Lace-Border
Xanthotype rufariaRufous Geometer

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

8BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Rhexia

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

0Specialist beesPollen specialists

—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Melastomataceae
Flower color: Pink or purple

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “June to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Pink or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Height · “Up to about 2 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

West Indian Meadow beauty

Conservation status

Alabama rank	SNR
Global rank	G4G5
AL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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West Indian Meadow-beauty

At a glance

Natural habitats

Also found with this plant

Who uses this plant?

Plant details

Conservation status

Will it fit your yard?

Sources

More Rhexia