Phlox subulata L. - Moss Phlox


 

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Phlox subulata - (image 1 of 4)

 

Taxonomy

Family: Polemoniaceae

Habitat

Sandy or gravelly soil and rocky slopes.

Associates

 

Distribution

NY to southern MI, south to NC and TN. Escaped over a wider range including further north.

Morphology

Semi-evergreen from a suffruticose (woody at the base) stem, freely branching and prostrate. Leaves crowded, subulate, mostly 5-10 mm, with a sharp point, usually ciliate, and often with axillary bundles. Flowers in few-flowered cymes; corolla pink, magenta, blue-purple or white, to 20 mm wide; corolla lobes notched at the tip to 1/4 of their length or less; style elongate.

Notes

Flowers April to May.

Wetland indicator: Upland

A popular garden plant that will spread rapidly in sandy soil where there is little competing vegetation. Easily propagated by division.

 

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.

The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

 

 


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 Michael Hough © 2009