Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures by color ( Purple ), 1 by htop

htop wrote:
Prairie Bluets, Fine-leaf Bluets, Baby’s Breath, Diamondflowers, Diamond Flowers, Diamond-flowers, Star-violet (Hedyotis nigricans; synomyns: Hedyotis nigricans var. nigricans, Houstonia nigricans), Rubiaceae, Texas native, perennial, classified as a subshrub in the USDA Plants Database, blooms late spring (usually April) to mid-fall (November), is adaptable to most soil conditions

This plant can be found in Edwards Plateau and South Texas Plains. It grows from 2 to 20 inches tall and can have an upright or sprawling growth habit. It has thread-like leaves with rolled margins are 3/8 to 1 5/8 inches in length. The species name, "nigricans", refers to the black color that the leaves turn as they dry. The stems form clumps and it is well branched in the upper portions of the plant. The wiry stems together with the tiny blooms create a "baby's breath" appearance. The usually four-lobed and trumpet-shaped blooms may be pale pink, pale lavender or white in color (more rare). The corolla may be white, pink or pale bluish-purple. The blooms are 3/8 of to 1/4 of an inch in length and appear in clusters. Although the plant is adaptable to many soil types and acidity levels, it requires excellent drainage. This plant makes a great rock garden or wildscape plant.

For more information see entry in the PlantFiles:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/62754/index.html

I love to find small plants with small blooms. I call them "the little ones" ... the ones which so often are not noticed by the casual observer. I must be a little (or maybe even greatly) freaky because I enjoy stooping over and telling these plants that I see them and that they are beautiful.

I cry when I see the photo I am posting below which shows the blooms on a very, very small specimen. The plant was dead the day after I took the photo.This plant and many, many others were destroyed as one of my favorite fields full of beautiful plants that I visited often was cleared to make a Hobby Lobby near my home. (See the member comments posted for this photo if you are interested in a sad tale).

Note that one bloom has 5 petals instead of 4.