meadow beauty, any plant of the genus Rhexia, herbaceous perennials of wet places E of the Rockies, particularly damp pine barrens and sands along the southeast coast. A widespread species, R. virginica, is a common component of cranberry-bog vegetation. Meadow beauties (also called deer grass) are sometimes cultivated, often in bog gardens. They are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Myrtales, family Melastomataceae.