FLOWER OF THE WEEK AT SOPCHOPPY DEPOT PARK

Pale meadow beauty

By LYNN ARTZ, SANDY TEDDER and DAVID RODDENBERRY

Pale meadow beauty (Rhexia mariana) is a slender, 1-2-foot-tall wildflower with showy rose-colored to pinky-lavender to whitish flowers loosely arranged atop the stem. The 4-petaled flowers have 8 long stamens with curving pollen-producing yellow anthers that extend far beyond the bloom. They beautify sunny, moist meadows and attract native bees and small butterflies from early summer to fall. Unlike most flowers, meadow beauties require buzz pollination. A specific frequency vibration will cause a puff of pollen to emerge from the tip of the anther, 10% of the anther’s pollen. This perennial is hard to propagate and is rarely sold commercially. However, it can form an extensive colony through underground stems. Pale meadow beauty is blooming now along the south edge of the pond at Sopchoppy Depot Park.