When I told my neighbor that Handsome Harry was in the drainage ditch at the front of her property, can you imagine what she expected to find? You also may have the same in your ditch or along the borders of your property. The native perennial wildflower travels over half the country under the alias of Handsome Harry, Meadow Beauty, or Deergrass or the scientific name Rhexia virginica.
Meadow beauty has a one-inch diameter four-petaled rose pink to pale pink flower. Leaves are opposite with three prominent veins and teeth along the margin.
Stems grow one to two feet tall. They prefer acidic, sandy, and moist habitats.
One of the tools I use to assist in identifying wildflowers in the field is a florascope. The glass 10- power lens shows me details the naked eye cannot capture like the glandular hairs dotting the leaves, stem, and seed capsule, prickle on outer edge of each petal and eight bright yellow curved stamens.
The colony of meadow beauties in the ditch had first day and second day flowers but also many flower buds in addition to seed capsules. Hence, life cycle was evident and could be tracked.
In late August a single plant shows fresh flowers, new flower buds, and seed capsules.
Why were some flowers in the same cluster bright and others faded? Temperature and pollen deposition affects changes in flower color. Since petals don’t remain on the flower long after pollination occurs, this flower’s age is measured in days. In controlled studies of flower age, meadow beauties lost their petals in two days. Since petal color attracts pollinators, time is of the essence. The ditch was shaded which reduced ambient temperature slightly.
Meadow beauty is considered to be a self-compatible plant, one that does not require cross-pollination for seeds to form. They are one of the plants to take to Mars because a single plant can recolonize. However, scientists discovered that even though the pollen from a single plant can fertilize the same plant, pollinators, especially bumblebees, are needed to release the pollen from the anthers first.
Rhexia virginica has at least three common names: Handsome Harry, Meadow Beauty, and Deer – grass.
Bumblebees are buzz pollinators. They grab the stamens of the meadow beauty and vibrate their flight muscles without flapping their wings. The vibration releases a gust of pollen from the anther. Homegrown tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and blueberries benefit from buzz pollinators too.
Henry David Thoreau observed colonies of Rhexia virginica at Walden Pond calling it meadow beauty and deergrass after the ever-present forager. He was enchanted by the urn-shaped seed capsules, which he described as “cream pitchers” and “little reddish chalices.”
To encourage the growth of native wildflower gardens, Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh and Niche Gardens in Chapel Hill offer the plant in their online catalogs.
What botanical adventures grow in your ditch?
Temperature and pollination affect flower color.
The urn-shaped seed capsule prompted Thoreau to describe them as “cream pitchers.”
Meadow Beauty is a native wildflower across the eastern U.S.
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