Blue phlox

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Blue phlox leaves

Blue phlox

Blue wood phlox habit

Blue phlox

Blue wood phlox

Blue wood phlox flowers

Blue phlox

Blue phlox

Morphology

Stem

Erect, ascending, or decumbent; sterile shoots sprawling at base of plant, fertile shoots erect or ascending.

Leaves

Opposite, simple; those of sterile shoots elliptic, blunt-tipped; those of fertile shoots lanceolate to narrowly oblong, 1 to 2 inches long, 1/2 to 1 inch wide, nearly glabrous or sparsely hairy; margins entire; tips usually tapering to points.

Inflorescence

Clusters of 9-30 flowers, terminal.

Flower

On short, pubescent stalks; calyces 5-lobed, glandular-pubescent, lobes long tapering, awl-shaped; corollas bluish violet to pale purple, lighter in the throat, 5-lobed; lobes 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, blunt-tipped; stamens 5, unequal.

Fruit

Capsules, egg-shaped; seeds few.

Ecology

Habitat

Moist, open woods and thickets.

Distribution

Principally east 1/3 of Kansas.

Additional Notes