Phlox subulata

Last updated

Phlox subulata
Phlox subulata - Moss Phlox.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Polemoniaceae
Genus: Phlox
Species:
P. subulata
Binomial name
Phlox subulata
L.
Phlox subulata in an ornamental planting beneath a cherry tree at Yachounomori Garden in Annaka, Gunma Sakura and Moss Pink - Ying (sakura)toZhi Ying (shibazakura).jpg
Phlox subulata in an ornamental planting beneath a cherry tree at Yachounomori Garden in Annaka, Gunma

Phlox subulata the creeping phlox, moss phlox, [1] moss pink or mountain phlox, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polemoniaceae, native to eastern and central USA, and widely cultivated.

Contents

The odor given off by the plants may be mistaken for that of marijuana. [2]

Description

Growing to about 13 cm (5 in) high at most and covering a 50 cm (20 in) wide area, it is an evergreen perennial forming mats or cushions of hairy, linear leaves. The small, five-petaled flowers bloom in rose, mauve, blue, white, or pink in late spring to early summer. [3] Its habitats include rocky ledges, slopes and clearings. [4]

Taxonomy

The Latin specific epithet subulata means awl- or needle-shaped [5] which refers to its leaves. [6]

Cultivation

The plant is cultivated as a front-of-border or groundcover plant. Requiring full sun and well-drained soil, it is very hardy, tolerating temperatures down to −20 °C (−4 °F), and is suitable for hardiness zones USDA 3 to 9. It grows in sandy or gravely soil. [6]

Cultivars

The following cultivars have received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit: [7]

See also

Phlox stolonifera

Related Research Articles

<i>Phlox</i> Genus of flowering plants

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.

<i>Hibiscus syriacus</i> Species of flowering plant

Hibiscus syriacus is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is native to areas of east Asia, but widely introduced elsewhere, including much of Europe and North America. It was given the epithet syriacus because it had been collected from gardens in Syria. Common names include the rose of Sharon,, Syrian ketmia, shrub althea (or simply althea), and rose mallow. It is the national flower of South Korea and is mentioned in the South Korean national anthem.

<i>Nigella damascena</i> Species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Nigella damascena, love-in-a-mist, or devil in the bush, is an annual garden flowering plant, belonging to the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is native to southern Europe, north Africa and southwest Asia, where it is found on neglected, damp patches of land.

<i>Hyacinthus orientalis</i> Species of flowering plant

Hyacinthus orientalis, the common hyacinth, garden hyacinth or Dutch hyacinth, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, native to southwestern Asia, southern and central Turkey, northwestern Syria, Lebanon and northern Israel. It was introduced to Europe in the 16th century. It is widely cultivated everywhere in the temperate world for its strongly fragrant flowers which appear exceptionally early in the season, and frequently forced to flower at Christmas time.

<i>Lobularia maritima</i> Species of flowering plant

Lobularia maritima is a species of low-growing flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. Its common name is sweet alyssum or sweet alison, also commonly referred to as just alyssum.

<i>Lavandula angustifolia</i> Species of plant

Lavandula angustifolia, formerly L. officinalis, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean. Its common names include lavender, true lavender and English lavender ; also garden lavender, common lavender and narrow-leaved lavender.

<i>Primula elatior</i> Species of flowering plant

Primula elatior, the oxlip, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to nutrient-poor and calcium-rich damp woods and meadows throughout Europe, with northern borders in Denmark and southern parts of Sweden, eastwards to the Altai Mountains and on the Kola Peninsula in Russia, and westwards in the British Isles.

<i>Geranium sanguineum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Geraniaceae

Geranium sanguineum, common names bloody crane's-bill or bloody geranium, is a species of hardy flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the cranesbill family Geraniaceae. It is the county flower of Northumberland.

<i>Dicentra formosa</i> Species of flowering plants in the poppy family Papaveraceae

Dicentra formosa is a flowering plant with fern-like leaves and an inflorescence of drooping pink, purple, yellow or cream flowers native to the Pacific Coast of North America.

<i>Salix reticulata</i> Species of willow

Salix reticulata, the net-leaved willow, or snow willow, is a dwarf willow, native to the colder parts of Europe, North America, and Northern Asia. It is found in the western United States, including the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains. In Europe it extends south through the Carpathian Mountains and Alps to the Pyrenees and the mountains of Bulgaria and North Macedonia. It is common in Canada, Greenland and Finland, and present but rare in Scotland.

<i>Gillenia trifoliata</i> Species of flowering plant

Gillenia trifoliata, common name Bowman's root or Indian physic, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, native to eastern North America from Ontario to Georgia. It is an erect herbaceous perennial growing to 100 cm (39 in) tall by 60 cm (24 in) wide, with three lobed palmate leaves and pale pink flowers with narrow petals and reddish calyces above red coloured stems in spring and summer. Its habitat includes dry to moist upland woods and rocky banks.

<i>Phlox drummondii</i> Species of flowering plant

Phlox drummondii is a flowering plant in the genus Phlox of the family Polemoniaceae. Native to Texas, it is also widely distributed in the southeastern United States, especially along public highways. P. drummondii is often used as an ornamental plant. The flowers have a wide range of colours "from white and cream through pinks, lilacs, roses, purples and reds, to almost black".

<i>Phlox divaricata</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Phlox paniculata</i> Species of flowering plant

Phlox paniculata is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family (Polemoniaceae). It is native to parts of the eastern and central United States. It is extensively cultivated in temperate regions as an ornamental plant and has become established in the wild in scattered locales in other regions. Common names include fall phlox, garden phlox, perennial phlox, summer phlox, and panicled phlox.

<i>Cyclamen persicum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae

Cyclamen persicum, the Persian cyclamen, is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant growing from a tuber, native to rocky hillsides, shrubland, and woodland up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) above sea level, from south-central Turkey to Lebanon-Syria and the Palestine region. It also grows in Algeria and Tunisia and on the Greek islands of Rhodes, Karpathos, and Crete, where it may have been introduced by monks. Cultivars of this species are the commonly seen florist's cyclamen.

<i>Veltheimia capensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Veltheimia capensis is one of two species of flowering plants belonging to the genus Veltheimia, of the family Asparagaceae. It is a tender bulbous perennial reaching a height of 46 cm (18 in), with flowers varying in color from white with red spots to pink with green or red markings.

<i>Heliopsis helianthoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Heliopsis helianthoides is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, known by the common names rough oxeye, smooth oxeye and false sunflower. It is native to eastern and central North America from Saskatchewan east to Newfoundland and south as far as Texas, New Mexico, and Georgia.

<i>Phlox carolina</i> Species of flowering plant

Phlox carolina, the thickleaf phlox, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polemoniaceae. It is an herbaceous perennial growing to 1.2 m (4 ft) tall by 45 cm (18 in) wide, with leaves to 13 cm (5 in) long, and purple or pink flowers in summer. The specific epithet carolina refers to its native habitat in the eastern United States. It grows in woodland edges and openings. Flowers attract bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies.

<i>Phlox douglasii</i> Species of flowering plant

Phlox douglasii, common name tufted phlox or Columbia phlox, is a species of perennial herb belonging to the family Polemoniaceae. In the past it has been mistakenly included within the species Phlox caespitosa.

<i>Phlox maculata</i> Species of flowering plant

Phlox maculata, common names wild sweetwilliam and meadow phlox, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polemoniaceae, native the eastern United States and introduced to eastern Canada. It is a perennial.

References

  1. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. "Police sorry for drug raid mix-up". BBC News. BBC. 6 December 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  3. RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN   978-1405332965.
  4. "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  5. Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. p. 224. ISBN   9781845337315.
  6. 1 2 "Phlox subulata - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  7. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 78. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  8. "Phlox 'Kelly's Eye'". RHS. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  9. "RHS Plant Selector - Phlox subulata 'McDaniel's Cushion'" . Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  10. "Phlox subulata 'Red Winga'". RHS. Retrieved 5 March 2021.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Phlox subulata at Wikimedia Commons