|
Budburst Logo
  1. The Program
    1. Why Participate
    2. The Budburst App
  2. Projects
    1. Plants & Climate Change
    2. Plant-Animal Interactions
  3. Activities
    1. For Groups
    2. For Educators
    3. For Families
  1. Plants
    1. Intro to Plants
    2. Plant Groups
      1. Wildflower and Herbs
      2. Deciduous Trees and Shrubs
      3. Broadleaf Evergreens
      4. Conifers
      5. Grasses
    3. Budburst Species
  2. Data
  3. Groups
  4. Resources
    1. Getting Started
    2. Phenology
    3. Pollinators
    4. Participating in Groups
    5. Setup for Students
  5. Sign In
  6. Join Budburst
Home  /  Plants  /  Budburst Species  /  Phlox pilosa
Phenology Observation Sheet for Wildflowers and Herbs

COMMON NAME

prairie phlox

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Phlox pilosa

ALSO KNOWN AS

downy phlox

Plant family

Phlox (Polemoniaceae)

Plant group

Wildflowers and Herbs

Prairie phlox is an herbaceous perennial native to much of Midwestern North America.
53 reports
23+
OBSERVERS
53+
OBSERVATIONS
!

Identification hints

A showy flowering plant, phlox grows up to 2 feet tall and is associated with rich black soils in native prairie. The bright pinkish purple cluster of flowers at the top of the plant is hard to miss, and even attracts deer!
?

Did you know?

Phlox is self-incompatible so it requires pollinators to producer seeds, but the floral tubes are long so only long-tongued insects can feast on the nectar. Short-tongued insects may still visit phlox to feed on the pollen. Prairie phlox is also host to the larvae of the phlox moth (Schinia indiana). There are nine recognized varieties or subspecies of phlox, depending on the source. Most subspecies are only present in a distinct locality within the species range. To distinguish the subspecies, you have to observe the hairs on the leaves and stem of the plant. Variation in hair length and the amount of hairs present are often distinguishing features of these different subspecies.
DISTRIBUTION IN TH U.S.
Alabama , Arkansas , Connecticut , Delaware , Florida , Georgia , Iowa , Illinois , Indiana , Kansas , Kentucky , Louisiana , Maryland , Michigan , Minnesota , Missouri , Mississippi , North Carolina , North Dakota , Nebraska , New Jersey , New York , Ohio , Oklahoma , Pennsylvania , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas , Virginia , Wisconsin , West Virginia
HABITAT
Prairie phlox prefers dry, or well-drained sandy or rocky acidic soils with sun or partial shade and as such can be found in open woodlands, sand hills, prairies, roadsides, and some rocky slopes and savanna habitat.
ATTRIBUTES
Leaves
The leaves of prairie phlox are very narrow and range in size such that they are longer at the base of the plant and shorter ascending up the stem but rarely longer than 3 inches. Leaves have smooth edges and taper to a point. Pairs of leaves emerge opposite one another from the stem with gaps between pairs of leaves.
Flowers
The flowers of prairie phlox are showy and range in color from very pale whitish pink to lavender to pink to darker magenta. The flowers are arranged in a cluster that is about 3 inches in diameter at the top of the stem. Each individual flower is up to 3/4 an inch in diameter and have a tube from which 5 "petals" (lobes) emerge. in the middle of the tube are yellow tipped stamens often hiding from view. There is often a darker pink or purple ring near the center of each flower.
Fruits
The fruits of phlox are oval capsules that explode when mature to fling the small hard seeds away from the maternal plant.
Bloom Time
Blooms from March through July depending on the location. In far north sites, blooming starts later because spring is later.

Do your part for our planet. Join Budburst today.

See Menu
  1. The Program
    1. Why Participate
    2. The Budburst App
  2. Projects
    1. Plants & Climate Change
    2. Plant-Animal Interactions
  3. Activities
    1. For Groups
    2. For Educators
    3. For Families
  4. About us
    1. Our partners
    2. Staff & Sponsors
    3. Publications
    1. Plants
    2. Data
    3. Groups
    4. Resources

Stay Informed

Get in Touch

Have any questions or new ideas
you'd like to share?

Contact Us

Get the App

  1. Creative Commons
    BY-NC-SA 4.0
  2. Terms of Use
  3. Privacy Policy
  4. Data Sharing and Citation Policies
  5. 2021 Chicago Botanic Garden. All Rights Reserved.