Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA
Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA
Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA
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Family: Rubiaceae (Madder family)
Mid-Atlantic bloom time: February - August
Field Madder's leaves are linear to lanceolate, and grow in whorls of 4–6 leaves. Its small (~3 mm) blue or pink to lavender flowers are terminal and sessile.
Field Madder is can be found in fields, lawns, and other open disturbed habitats. It is native to Eurasia and northern Africa.
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15 May 2026
Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA
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15 May 2026
Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA
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15 May 2026
Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA
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References
1: According to Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025 edition) , Field Madder is usually treated as a monotypic genus, Sherardia, but Valerie L. Soza and Richard G. Olmstead's 2010 paper "Molecular systematics of tribe Rubieae (Rubiaceae): Evolution of major clades, development of leaf-like whorls, and biogeography" (Taxon 50:755-771) shows Sherardia to be deeply embedded within a paraphyletic Galium. >> PDF available on JSTOR