POLEMONIACEAE

PHLOX FAMILY

Robert W. Patterson, Family Editor

Annual, perennial herb, shrub, vine
Leaves simple or compound, cauline (or most in basal rosette), alternate or opposite; stipules 0
Inflorescence: cymes, heads, or flowers solitary
Flower: calyx generally 5-ribbed, ribs often connected by translucent membranes that are generally torn by growing fruit; corolla generally 5-lobed, radial or bilateral, salverform to bell-shaped, throat often well defined; stamens generally 5, epipetalous, attached at same or different levels, filaments of same or different lengths, pollen white, yellow, blue, or red; ovary superior, chambers generally 3, style 1, stigmas generally 3
Fruit: capsule
Seeds 1–many, gelatinous or not when wet
Genera in family: 19 genera, 320 species: Am, n Eur, n Asia; some cultivated (Cantua, Cobaea (cup-and-saucer vine), Collomia, Gilia, Ipomopsis, Linanthus, Phlox )
Recent taxonomic note: *See also revised taxonomy of Porter and Johnson 2000 Aliso 19(1):55–91; Porter 1998 Aliso 17:83–85
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PHLOX

Robert W. Patterson and Dieter H. Wilken

Annual, perennial herb
Stem prostrate to erect, or tufted to cushion-like
Leaves cauline, opposite, simple, sessile, linear-lanceolate to elliptic, entire
Flower: corolla salverform; stamens attached at different levels, some stamens unequal
Species in genus: ± 60 species: Am, Siberia
Etymology: (Greek: flame, ancient name for Lychnis of Caryophyllaceae)
Reference: [Cronquist, A. 1984. in Intermountain Flora, V.4.]

Native

P. hoodii Richardson subsp. canescens (Torr. & A. Gray) Wherry

Perennial, ± matted, ± glabrous to woolly, not glandular
Stem glabrous
Leaf ± awl-like, generally hairy
Inflorescence terminal; flowers solitary, sessile
Flower: calyx 7–8 mm, woolly near base of lobes; corolla white to lilac, tube 10–12 mm
Ecology: Open, rocky areas, sagebrush scrub, pinyon/juniper woodland
Elevation: 1500–2700 m.
Bioregional distribution: n High Sierra Nevada, Great Basin Floristic Province
Distribution outside California: Montana, Utah, n Arizona
Flowering time: May–Jul
Synonyms: subsp. lanata (Piper) Munz
Horticultural information: TRY; DFCLT.