Thymeleaf Bluet

Houstonia serpyllifolia

Found in streambanks, grassy balds, moist forests, seepy rock outcrops, spray cliffs, and moist disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

Good

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

Profile 82%

Height: Up to about 4 inches
Light: Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry to wet

Will it fit your yard?

Houstonia serpyllifolia — whole photograph — (c) Leila Dasher, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom

Bloom: NC species account not read yet.

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

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

Recorded in 6 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 5

Named place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

Grassy mountain bald with shrub islands. Shown: Andrews Bald, Forney Ridge Trail, Swain County, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Andrews Bald, Forney Ridge Trail, July 2020, Andrea Walton / Great Smoky Mountains National Park, July 2020. Public domain. Source record.

Regional / representative. Shown: Mountains of North and South Carolina; exact site not identified, a neighboring state.Shortia beneath rhododendrons in mountain woodland, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Rock outcrop on a mountain summit. Shown: Sassafras Mountain, on the North Carolina and South Carolina line, a neighboring state.Sassafras Mountain rock outcrop, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record. Faithful JPEG display decode of embedded JP2; no AI or color enhancement. Phone derivative resized proportionally.

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 Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 118 animals.

Great Egret
Ardea alba
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 Warbler
Wilsonia citrina
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Horned Grebe
Podiceps auritus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Horned Lark
Eremophila alpestris
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Indigo Bunting
Passerina cyanea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Killdeer
Charadrius vociferus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Least Flycatcher
Empidonax minimus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Loggerhead Shrike
Lanius ludovicianus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Long-eared Owl
Asio otus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Aegolius acadicus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Orange-crowned Warbler
Vermivora celata
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Orchard Oriole
Icterus spurius
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Osprey
Pandion haliaetus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ovenbird
Seiurus aurocapilla
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Prairie Warbler
Dendroica discolor
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red Crossbill
Loxia curvirostra
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta canadensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-shouldered Hawk
Buteo lineatus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
Birds. 1 shared habitat

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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
Flower color: Blue

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

Growing sources and scope

Flower color · “Blue” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Height · “Up to about 4 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
primary_flower_color · “blue” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

Thyme Leaf Bluet

Conservation status

Virginia rank	S3S4
Global rank	G4?
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Thymeleaf Bluet

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 Houstonia