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Diamond Flower

Houstonia nigricans var. nigricans

Found in glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone; cliffs, ledges and rocky summits; prairies and grasslands; sandhills; Coastal dunes and beaches; pine flatwoods. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you

36
Good

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

Profile 71%

Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Bloom
May to October

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 23 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 6

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP, Catoosa County
Limestone cedar glade. Shown: Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Catoosa County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP, Catoosa County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits

Trees and rocks on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trees and rocks on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Prairies and grasslands

Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County
Limestone prairie. Shown: Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Houstonia

  • Thyris maculataSpotted Thyris
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
13BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Houstonia

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
1Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Houstonia

  • Perdita pedernalensis
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
—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
Rubiaceae

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Glade Bluet; Prairie Bluet; Stenaria nigricans; Virginia Spiraea; Virginia or West Virginia Spiraea; West Virginia Spiraea

Conservation status

Florida rankSNR
Global rankNot available
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

In your garden

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Sources