Phlox caespitosa

Phlox caespitosa
Apparently Secure
Apparently Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Polemoniaceae
Genus: Phlox
Species:
P. caespitosa
Binomial name
Phlox caespitosa
Synonyms
  • Phlox piperi

Phlox caespitosa is a species of phlox known by the common name tufted phlox. It is native to western North America from British Columbia through the Great Basin to New Mexico, where it grows in scrub, woodland, and other open plateau habitat. It is one of several cushion-forming species that occur in the same region and require careful observation to distinguish. In the past, this species and Phlox douglasii have been erroneously lumped together.

Description

It is a mat-forming perennial herb growing in patches of short, hairy, glandular stems. The stems are lined with pairs of very narrow, sharp-tipped linear leaves each under a centimeter in length. The inflorescence is a solitary flower or cluster of up to three flowers at the tip of each stem. The flower is white or light pink or lavender with five rounded lobes. It is around a centimeter long.

Taxonomy

Phlox caespitosa was given its scientific name by Thomas Nuttall in 1834. It is classified in the Phlox genus as part of the Polemoniaceae family. The species has four synonyms, including one from when it was described as a variety of Phlox douglasii by Herbert Louis Mason in 1925.

Table of Synonyms
Name Year Rank Notes
Phlox caespitosa subsp. eucaespitosa Brand 1907 subspecies ≡ hom., not validly publ.
Phlox caespitosa subvar. piperi (E.E.Nelson) Brand 1907 subvariety = het.
Phlox douglasii var. caespitosa (Nutt.) H.Mason 1925 variety ≡ hom.
Phlox piperi E.E.Nelson 1899 species = het.
Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym; = heterotypic synonym

References

Citations

  1. ↑ NatureServe 2026.
  2. 1 2 POWO 2026.
  3. 1 2 James H. Locklear (2010), "Columbia Phlox (Phlox douglasii Hook.)" (PDF), Kalmiopsis, 17: 1–8
  4. ↑ "Tufted Phlox, Phlox caespitosa". calscape.org.

Sources

Web sources