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.US Forest Service Fire Ecology There are many subspecies.
This perennial herb is variable in morphology, but usually forms a tight mat or loose clump on the ground. The short stems emerge from a woody taproot and caudex unit and the plant form is no more than tall. The abundant tiny, sharp-pointed leaves are oppositely arranged and barely exceed long. The herbage is hairy in texture, the hairs short to long, woolly to cobwebby. The appearance of the plant is almost mosslike until blooming.USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center The inflorescence is a solitary flower in shades of white, pink, or blue. It has a tubular throat about long spreading into a flat five-lobed corolla.
Taxonomy In 1823 John Richardson scientifically described a new species in the Phlox genus with the name Phlox hoodii. Together with its genus it is classified in the Polemoniaceae family and the species has six accepted subspecies and one variety according to Plants of the World Online.
Phlox hoodii subsp. canescens – Native from British Columbia to New Mexico Phlox hoodii subsp. glabrata – Native to Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming Phlox hoodii subsp. hoodii – Native to Alaska and the Yukon and from southern Canada to Arizona Phlox hoodii subsp. lanata – Native from Washington to Arizona Phlox hoodii var. madsenii – Native to Utah Phlox hoodii subsp. muscoides – Native from California to North Dakota Phlox hoodii subsp. viscidula – Native to Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming
Phlox hoodii has synonyms of the species or of four of its subspecies.
Table of Synonyms Name Year Rank Synonym of: Notes Armeria bryoides 1891 species subsp. muscoides = het. Armeria hoodii 1891 species P. hoodii ≡ hom. Armeria muscodes 1891 species subsp. muscoides ≡ hom. Fonna hoodii 1916 species P. hoodii ≡ hom. Phlox bryoides 1848 species subsp. muscoides = het. Phlox canescens 1854 species subsp. canescens ≡ hom. Phlox canescens var. spinosa 1907 variety subsp. canescens = het. Phlox douglasii var. canescens 1925 variety subsp. canescens ≡ hom. Phlox glabrata 1907 species subsp. glabrata ≡ hom. Phlox hoodii var. canescens 1941 variety subsp. canescens ≡ hom. Phlox hoodii subsp. genuina 1941 subspecies P. hoodii ≡ hom., not validly publ. Phlox hoodii var. glabrata 1899 variety subsp. glabrata ≡ hom. Phlox lanata 1902 species subsp. lanata ≡ hom. Phlox muscoides 1834 species subsp. muscoides ≡ hom. Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym; = heterotypic synonym
References Citations
Sources Web sources
External links
Calflora Database: Phlox hoodii (Spiny phlox) Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of Phlox hoodii ssp canescens UC CalPhotos gallery