RUBIACE^— MADDER FAMILY 



BLUETS. INNOCENTS 



Houstonia ccerulea 



Houstdma, named in honor of Doctor William Houston, 

 an early English botanist. 



Perennial. Growing in tufts by means of delicate 

 creeping stems, in grassy places both moist and dry. 

 Nova Scotia and Ontario to Michigan, southward to 

 Georgia and Alabama. Abundant in northern Ohio. 

 April-July. 



Stem. — Smooth, slender, erect, three to six inches high 

 and sparingly branched. 



Leaves. — Oblong or spatulate, small, opposite. 



Flowers. — Small, pale blue, lilac, or cream-white, with 

 a yellow eye, solitary. 



Calyx. — Four-parted. 



Corolla. — Salver-shaped, with four oval, pointed, 

 spreading lobes that equal the slender tube in length. 



Stamens. — Four, inserted on the tube of the corolla; 

 variable in position. 



Pistil. — Ovary two-celled; style variable in length. 



Fruit. — Capsule; seeds few. 



Pollinated by flies, bees, and butterflies. Flowers are 

 dimorphous. 



"Innocents, children guileless and frail, 

 Meek little faces, upturned and pale." 

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