Phlox is a genus of 68 species of perennial and annual plants in the family Polemoniaceae. They are found mostly in North America in diverse habitats from alpine tundra to open woodland and prairie. Some flower in spring, others in summer and fall. Flowers may be pale blue, violet, pink, bright red, or white. Many are fragrant.
Phlox hoodii, the spiny phlox or carpet phlox, is a species of phlox. It is a plant of western North America, where it is a common flower in sagebrush country, mostly growing in dry lithosol habitats. It is among the first plants to bloom in spring, after the snow has melted. Its distribution extends from Alaska to Arizona. There are many subspecies.
Phlox divaricata, the wild blue phlox, woodland phlox, or wild sweet william, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polemoniaceae, native to forests and fields in eastern North America.
Phlox pilosa, the downy phlox or prairie phlox, is an herbaceous plant in the family Polemoniaceae. It is native to eastern North America, where it is found in open areas such as prairies and woodlands.
Polemonium eximium, the skypilot or showy sky pilot, is a perennial plant in the phlox family (Polemoniaceae) that grows at high altitudes. It is endemic to the Sierra Nevada in California where it grows in the talus of the high mountain slopes.
Gilia cana is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name showy gilia. It is native to California and Nevada where it grows in open areas with gravelly and sandy soils, such as desert and rocky slopes. The Mojave Desert range of some subspecies may extend into Arizona.
Gilia salticola is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name salt gilia. It is native to the Sierra Nevada and Modoc Plateau of California and western Nevada, where it grows in volcanic and granitic soils.
Leptosiphon montanus is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name mustang clover.
Dieteria canascens is an annual plant or short lived perennial plant in the family Asteraceae, known by the common names hoary tansyaster and hoary-aster.
Phlox dolichantha is a species of phlox known by the common name Big Bear Valley phlox. It is endemic to San Bernardino County, California, where it is limited to the area around Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains. It grows in forests and the unique local pebble plain habitat. It occurs at elevations over 2000 meters. It is an erect, branching perennial herb growing up to 30 centimeters tall. The linear or narrowly lance-shaped leaves are 2 to 5 centimeters long and are oppositely arranged on the slender stems. The inflorescence is made up of one or more showy flowers at the tip of the stem. Each flower has a very slender tubular throat up to 5 centimeters long which can be white, pink, or lavender.
Microsteris is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the phlox family containing the single species Microsteris gracilis, known by the common name slender phlox.
Phlox pulvinata is a species of phlox known by the common name cushion phlox. It is native to the western United States where it grows in mountain and plateau habitat, in rocky subalpine and alpine climates, including exposed tundra habitat. It is a perennial herb taking a flat, dense, cushionlike form on the ground. Its very short stems are lined with hair-fringed lance-shaped leaves each no more than one centimeter long. The plant is among the first to flower in the spring in many areas. It blooms densely, forming carpets of flowers. Each white to pale pink flower has a tubular throat up to one centimeter long and a flat five-lobed corolla.
Phlox speciosa is a species of phlox known by the common name showy phlox. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Arizona and New Mexico, where it occurs in sagebrush, pine woodlands, and mountain forests.
Polemonium chartaceum is a rare species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names Mason's Jacob's-ladder and Mason's sky pilot. It is native to California, where it has a disjunct distribution. It occurs in the Klamath Mountains as well as the ranges east of the Sierra Nevada, including the White Mountains, where its distribution extends just into Nevada. It is a plant of high elevations, growing in exposed, rocky mountain slope habitat such as talus and alpine fellfields.
Mirabilis macfarlanei is a rare species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family known by the common name MacFarlane's four o'clock. It is native to Idaho and Oregon in the United States, where it is only known from three river canyons. It faces a number of threats and is federally listed as a threatened species of the United States.
Agastache cusickii is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name Cusick's giant hyssop. It is native to the northwestern United States from eastern Oregon and central Nevada to Idaho and Montana.
Linanthus pungens is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names granite prickly-phlox and granite gilia. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Baja California and east to Montana and New Mexico.
Penstemon acuminatus is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names sharpleaf penstemon and sand-dune penstemon. It is native to the northwestern United States, where it occurs in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada.
Castilleja kerryana is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is commonly known as Kerry's Indian paintbrush or Kerry’spaintbrush. It was formally described in 2013 and so far it is known only from a small population in the state of Montana, in the Northwestern United States.
The flora of the U.S. Sierra Nevada alpine zone is characterized by small, low growing, cushion and mat forming plants that can survive the harsh conditions in the high-altitude alpine zone above the timber line. These flora often occur in alpine fell-fields. The Sierra Nevada alpine zone lacks a dominant plant species that characterizes it, so may or may not be called a vegetation type. But it is found above the subalpine forest, which is the highest in a succession of recognized vegetation types at increasing elevations.
