Medicinal Monday...Blue for Bluets

Bluets, also known as azure bluets or Quaker ladies are members of the family Rubiaceae and are known for their beautiful blue color. Native Americans found medicinal uses for this tiny and delicate perennial wildflower that is native to the Eastern United States.

About Bluets
Bluets first appear in the spring but can continue to bloom in the summer and fall. The flowers appear on a 2 to 2 and a half inch stalk and have 1/2 wide four-lobed flowers that are pale blue with a yellow center. Each stalk supports just one flower. The flowers are very small but they bloom in mounding clusters and can form large colonies creating a carpet of blooms. The foliage is a basal rosette. Bluets thrive in moist acidic soil in shady areas and grow especially well in the grass. Bluets self-seed and once you see them in one area, you will most likely see them in the same place the following year.

Medicinal Uses
The Cherokee used an infusion of bluets to cure bedwetting. The flowers were also brewed as a tea to strengthen the bladder.

Did You Know...
Bluets are called Quaker ladies because the shape of the flower is similar to hats once worn by women of the Quaker faith.

Bees and other insects visit this flower for nectar.

The flower symbolism of bluets is contentment.

Bluets are also known as Little washerwoman, Venus's pride, Little innocents, and eyebright.