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 . It is an erect, branching perennial herb growing up to tall.Nicholls, G. Alpine Plants of North America: An Encyclopedia of Mountain Flowers from the Rockies to Alaska. Timber Press. 2002. The linear or narrowly lance-shaped leaves are 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 long which can be white, pink, or lavender.Phlox dolichantha. The Jepson eFlora 2013.
The flowers are pollinated by a variety of insects including the hawkmoth Hyles lineata and flies of the genera Anthomyia and Tachypeza.Strakosh, S. C. and C. J. Ferguson. (2005). Pollination biology of four southwestern species of Phlox (Polemoniaceae): Insect visitation in relation to corolla tube length. The Southwestern Naturalist 50(3), 291-301.
References
External links Calflora Database: Phlox dolichantha (Big Bear Valley phlox) Jepson Manual eFlora treatment of Phlox dolichantha NatureServe.org: Phlox dolichantha UC CalPhotos gallery of Phlox dolichantha—Big Bear Valley phlox