red bluet

Houstonia rubra is a member of the Rubiaceae family and is commonly referred to as red bluet. It is a small herbaceous plant with flowers that vary in color from white through pink to red and reddish-purple. The species is distributed across Arizona, New Mexico, southeastern Utah, and western Texas in the United States, as well as in several Mexican states including Coahuila, Nuevo León, Hidalgo, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Puebla, Sonora, and Durango. First described in 1799 by Cav., it is native to the southwestern U.S. and northern and central Mexico.