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Houstonia caerulea

species of plant

Specimen drawers, botanical folios and brass scientific instruments under study light
Science and natureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 18, 2026
Entity authorityQ5916869
Source-derived summary

Houstonia caerulea, commonly known as azure bluet, Quaker ladies, or bluets, is a perennial species in the family Rubiaceae. It is native to eastern Canada (Ontario to Newfoundland) and the eastern United States (Maine to Wisconsin, south to Florida and Louisiana, with scattered populations in Oklahoma). It is found in a variety of habitats such as cliffs, alpine zones, forests, meadows and shores of rivers or lakes.

Description

Houstonia caerulea is a perennial herb that produces showy flowers approximately 1 cm (0.39 in) across. These flowers are four-parted with pale blue petals and a yellow center. The foliage is a basal rosette with spatula-shaped leaves. Stems are up to 20 cm (7.9 in) tall with one flower per stalk. Leaves are simple and opposite in arrangement with two leaves per node along the stem. It thrives in moist acidic soils in shady areas, growing especially well among grasses.

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References

Further reading

Pink, A. (2004).

Editorial summary

“Houstonia caerulea” enters the record as species of plant. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Houstonia, caerulea and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2004—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Houstonia, caerulea and species.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Houstonia caerulea” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Houstonia, caerulea and species provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5916869. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2004.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
Verify next

Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Houstonia caerulea”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Houstonia caerulea primary sources, Houstonia caerulea archive and Houstonia research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Houstonia caerulea”?
  2. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
  3. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Houstonia caerulea” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.