Texas Star, Rose Gentian, Prairie Rose-gentian, Prairie Sabatia
Family:
Gentianaceae (Gentian Family)
Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map
Central Great Plains, Cross Timbers, East Central Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau, Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes, Southern Texas Plains, Texas Blackland Prairies, Western Gulf Coastal Plain
Broken Red Plains, Limestone Plains, Red Prairie
Carbonate Cross Timbers, Eastern Cross Timbers, Grand Prairie, Limestone Cut Plain, Western Cross Timbers
Bastrop Lost Pines, Floodplains and Low Terraces2, Northern Post Oak Savanna, Northern Prairie Outliers, San Antonio Prairie, Southern Post Oak Savanna
Balcones Canyonlands, Edwards Plateau Woodland
Coastal Sand Plain, Floodplains and Low Terraces4, Laguna Madre Barrier Island and Coastal Marshes, Lower Rio Grande Alluvial Floodplain, Lower Rio Grande Valley, Mid-Coast Barrier Islands and Coastal Marshes, Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Southern Subhumid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Texas-Louisiana Coastal Marshes
Northern Nueces Alluvial Plains, Rio Grande Floodplain and Terraces, Semiarid Edwards Bajada, Texas-Tamaulipan Thornscrub
Floodplains and Low Terraces1, Northern Blackland Prairie, Southern Blackland Prairie
Flatwoods, Floodplains and Low Terraces3, Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces, Red River Bottomlands, Southern Tertiary Uplands, Tertiary Uplands
Plant Characteristics
Growth Form
Herbaceous
Height
1
to
2
ft.
Spread
1
to
2
ft.
Leaf Retention
Deciduous
Lifespan
Annual
Habitat and Care Requirements
Soil Type(s)
Sand, Loam, Moist, Dry
Light Requirement
Sun, Part Shade
Water Requirement
Medium
Native Habitat
Grassland, Woodland
Bloom and Attraction
Bloom Color
White, Pink
Bloom Season
Spring, Summer
Seasonal Interest
Unknown
Wildlife Benefit
Unknown
Maintenance
Can be mowed. Best with summer water when blooming. Once started, will self sow and develop into large colonies of pink stars. Meadow pink usually forms large colonies by readily self-seeding. Propagation: Seed.
Comments
Blooms April-September. 1-1.5″ flower with pink or rose petals and yellow central star. Leaves are opposite and clasp stem. Reseeds readily and can form large colonies. Guards against self pollination by covering stigmatic surface until its own pollen is gone, then opens for cross pollination. Pollination: Nectar insects.
References
1) Griffith, Bryce, Omernick & Rodgers (2007). Ecoregions of Texas. 2) Wasowski and Wasowski, Native Texas Plants Landscaping Region by Region, 1991, pg. 164.. 3) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=SACA3. 4) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Sabatia+campestris&formsubmit=Search+Terms. 5) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=12309&locationType=County&mapType=Normal, 6) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=30010#null