Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Phlox subulata
FAMILY
Polemoniaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
There are two completely different plants that go by the name “thrift” and this is one of them. Read more at Phlox vs. Thrift.
Read more about Moss Phlox at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Phlox subulata +
FAMILY
Polemoniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 159-01-003:
Phlox subulata FAMILY Polemoniaceae
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phlox brittonii
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phlox subulata
COMMON NAME:
Moss Phlox, Mountain-pink, "Thrift"
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm200322_3313
March Polk County NC
In cultivation
Flowers can be rose, pink, blue, or white, per All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999).
)
JK Marlow jkm200322_3317
March Polk County NC
In cultivation
)
JK Marlow jkm200322_3319
March Polk County NC
In cultivation
Rose-magenta to white, flower lobes indented at the tips (not cleft), per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
)
JK Marlow jkm200322_3323
March Polk County NC
In cultivation
)
JK Marlow jkm200322_3326
March Polk County NC
In cultivation
On some plants the petal apex may be notched (concave) , per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
JK Marlow jkm200322_3334
March Polk County NC
In cultivation
)
JK Marlow jkm200322_3336
March Polk County NC
In cultivation
Stamens exserted, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Phlox subulata
FAMILY
Polemoniaceae
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Phlox subulata +
FAMILY
Polemoniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 159-01-003:
Phlox subulata
FAMILY
Polemoniaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phlox brittonii
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phlox subulata
1066
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Dry and exposed rock outcrops, rocky flood-scoured riversides, dry woodlands over a wide variety of rocks, shale barrens, per Weakley's Flora
Native to Georgia & North Carolina Mountains
Rare south of VA
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Semi-evergreen
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring
Pink/ Pale blue-violet
Radially symmetrical
5-merous
5-lobed salverform corolla
5 exserted stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p222
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p291
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p246
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p370
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p203
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p240
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p132
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".