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Virginia Meadow-beauty

Rhexia virginica

Found in wet pine flatwoods and savannas, pond shores, bogs, and ditches. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

40
Good

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

Profile 100%

Height
1–2 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
May to October

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 79 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

1 of 2

Pine flatwoods

Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer
Wet pine flatwoods with a shrub layer. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Pine savannas

Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype
Sandy pine savanna. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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
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
Hardiness
Zones 4a–8b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Pink, purple or white

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

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “May to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Pink, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
  • Hardiness · “Zones 4a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Height · “1–2 feet” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
  • Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
  • Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as

Handsome Harry; Virginia Meadow Beauty

Conservation status

Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources