Flowers are blue, violet or white, with a yellow center. There are 5 types of blue-eyed grass that are common in NC. Annual blue eyed grass (S. rosulatum) can be distinguished by a maroon band at the base of the petals. The other 4 types are more difficult to distinguish: Narrowleaf blue-eyed grass (S. angustifolium) with leaves less than 1/8 in. wide and flowers less than 1/2 in. wide; Atlantic blue-eyed grass (S. atlanticum), with leaves pale bluish-green, and flowers (usually 2) 0.5-0.75 in. wide, ovaries and capsules are black; Needle-tip blue-eyed grass (S. mucronatum) with extremely narrow grasslike leaves and flowers 2-4 in a cluster, 0.5-0.75 in. wide overtopped by a sharp-tipped bract, spathe bracts purple; and Nash’s blue-eyed grass (S. nashii) with leaves to 12 in. long and flowers 0.5-1 in. wide.
Bloom Times: May
Blue Field-Madder
Tiny cross-shaped pink to lavender flowers in clusters at the ends of branches.
Blue Toadflax
Blue to purple flowers with a 2-lobed upper lip and a larger, 3-lobed lower lip with a white center. The back of the flower has a long, downward pointing spur.
Bluet
Flowers are pale blue to violet with a yellow center. There is one flower per stem tip.
Bulbous Buttercup
Flowers have shiny yellow petals.
Bulltongue Arrowhead
White, 3 petaled flowers. Male and female flowers are on the same scape, the male flowers on the upper portion, the female flowers on the lower portion. Male flowers have bushy yellow centers, female flowers have mounded green centers. The leaves are 4-16 inches long, rising out of the water.
Butterfly Milkweed
Orange or reddish-orange 5 petal flowers in clusters at the end of the stem.
Cardinal Flower
Bright red, 2-lipped flowers in a tall spike. The upper lip has two spreading lobes and an upright gray-tipped filament tube. The lower lip is split into 3 lobes.
Carolina False Dandelion
Pale yellow, dandelion-like flowers.
Carolina Geranium
Pale pink to white flowers in clusters at the end of stalks.