Prairie phlox

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Prairie phlox flowers

Prairie phlox stem

Prairie phlox habit

Prairie phlox inflorescence

Prairie phlox leaves

Prairie phlox

Prairie phlox

Prairie phlox

Prairie phlox sepals

Morphology

Stem

Erect to ascending, 1-several, branching at base or sometimes above, 6-12 nodes, soft downy to glandular-hairy.

Leaves

Opposite, simple, sessile, linear to lanceolate or narrowly ovate, 1 to 3.5 inches long, 1/4 to 1 inch long wide, prominent central vein; surfaces soft hairy; margins entire; tips tapering to long points.

Inflorescence

Panicles, compact to open, terminal; flowers 12-50+.

Flower

Showy; calyx 5-lobed, 1/3 to 1/2 inch long, glandular-pubescent, tube and lobes about equal in length; lobes long-pointed; tips with stiff awns; corolla trumpet-shaped, pink, purple or rarely white; tube 1/3 to 1/2 inch long; lobes 5, petal-like, united, oblanceolate to egg-shaped, 1/2 inch long, spreading; tips rounded; base of each lobe often with darker spots; stamens 5, unequal, yellow-tipped.

Fruit

Capsule, ovoid to oblong, 1/4 inch long, tan, breaking into 3 sections; seeds 3 per fruit, black.

Ecology

Habitat

Meadows, prairies, roadsides, open slopes or woodland openings; moist to dry rocky or sandy soils.

Distribution

East 1/4 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

Native Americans took an infusion made from the leaves to purify the blood and used it as a wash to treat eczema. The root was used in a love medicine compound.

Additional Notes