| Phlox glaberrima | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Polemoniaceae |
| Genus: | Phlox |
| Species: | P. glaberrima |
| Binomial name | |
| Phlox glaberrima | |
Phlox glaberrima, commonly called smooth phlox [1] and sometimes marsh phlox, [2] [a] is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family. It is native to the Midwestern and Southeastern United States [3] where it is found in moist to wet areas. It can be found in both prairies and forests, where it is an indicator of high quality habitat. [4]
The relationships between Phlox glaberrima, Phlox carolina , and Phlox maculata are particularly unclear. There may be hybridization, or an undescribed third species that resembles an intermediate. As of 2014, [update] the phylogenetic relationships of this group of Phlox were under review, [5] with variations in the "Phlox carolina–glaberrima complex...among the most difficult phlox plants to positively identify". [5]
Botanist Edgar T. Wherry (1955) recognized three subspecies, subsp. glaberrima in its eastern range, subsp. interior of the Plains (the Wabash smooth phlox) and subsp. triflora (syn.P. triflora, the three-flower smooth phlox) in the South, [5] [6] but Locklear (2012) only two, incorporating subsp. triflora with subsp. glaberrima. [7]
The glaberrima and interior variations, along with other taxa in the P. carolina–glaberrima complex and P. maculata, are frequently cultivated as ornamental landscape plants, but triflora rarely is. [5] Notable cultivars include P. glaberrima 'Morris Berd', [8] P. glaberrima ssp. triflora 'Forever Pink' [9] and P. glaberrima ssp. triflora 'Triple Play'. [10]
