Smooth Phlox

(Phlox glaberrima)

 

   

 

 

Color Photograph: USDA, NRCS, 1995-Midwestern Wetland Flora.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Smooth Phlox (Phlox glaberrima L.)

Identification: Flowers pink, with 5 petals and a long, thin corolla tube. Petals wedge-shaped, radiating from the center of the corolla tube. Stamens visible in the opening of the corolla tube. Plant branched near the top and flowers in a series of small clusters at the top of each stem. Clusters include flowers, flower buds, and seedpods, giving the cluster a rough, prickly appearance. Stem smooth. Leaves elongate, in opposite pairs. Plant 2 to 5 feet in height.

Distribution: Wisconsin in the east to Virginia in the east, southward to Florida and Louisiana.

Habitat: Smooth Phlox is found in woods and thickets.

Flowering period: May to June.

Similar Species: Garden phlox has large, wider leaves. Downy Phlox is a smaller plant (1 to 2 feet in height) and the stamens are not visible in the opening of the corolla tube. Wild Sweet William has a purple spotted stem, the stamens are visible, and the corolla tube is very long and narrow.

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