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.

Ring-necked Duck
Aythya collaris
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Pheucticus ludovicianus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Rough-legged Hawk
Buteo lagopus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Regulus calendula
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Archilochus colubris
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Rusty Blackbird
Euphagus carolinus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Scarlet Tanager
Piranga olivacea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Short-eared Owl
Asio flammeus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Song Sparrow
Melospiza melodia
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Swamp Sparrow
Melospiza georgiana
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Tufted Titmouse
Baeolophus bicolor
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-crowned Sparrow
Zonotrichia leucophrys
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-eyed Vireo
Vireo griseus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-throated Sparrow
Zonotrichia albicollis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-winged Crossbill
Loxia leucoptera
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wild Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Willow Flycatcher
Empidonax traillii
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wilson's Snipe
Gallinago delicata
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wood Duck
Aix sponsa
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus varius
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Coccyzus americanus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Nyctanassa violacea
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