MELASTOMACEi^— MEADOW-BEAUTY 

 FAMILY 



MEADOW-BEAUTY. DEER-GRASS. RHEXIA 



Rhexia Virginica 



A native perennial found in sandy swamps or pine 

 barrens. Maine to Florida, westward to Illinois and 

 Missouri. July-September. 



Stems. — One to two feet high; square, more or less 

 hairy, erect, branching. 



Leaves. — Opposite; sessile, ovate or oval, acute at 

 apex, mostly five-nerved; margins serrulate and ciliate; 

 one to two inches long. 



Flowers. — Purplish pink, an inch or more across; in 

 terminal, showy, loose clusters. 



Calyx. — Tubular, narrowest at the neck, four-lobed. 



Corolla. — Petals four, obovate; slightly oblique, rounded 

 or slightly retuse. 



Stamens. — Eight, equal, in two rows; anthers recurved. 



Pistil. — Ovary one, four-celled; style slender; stigma 

 truncate. 



Fruit. — An urn-shaped capsule; many-seeded. 



Rhexia is a plant that has developed upon the plan 

 of four. The stem is four-square, the calyx four-lobed, 

 the petals are four, the stamens eight in two sets, the 

 ovary four-celled, and the seeds packed into four 

 pockets. For some reason the vegetable world inclines 

 toward the rule of five; for example, Roses, Pinks, But- 

 tercups; a large contingent falls into threes, as all the 

 Lily tribe, but not many take four and still fewer seven. 



Like so many swamp plants, Rhexia grows in masses, 

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