Phlox stansburyi is a species of phlox known by the common names cold-desert phlox and pink phlox. It is native to the southwestern United States from California to Utah to Texas, where it occurs in desert and plateau scrub and woodland habitat.
It is a perennial herb taking an upright, branching form. The hairy linear or lance-shaped leaves are in length and oppositely arranged. The inflorescence bears one or more white to pink flowers with narrow, tubular throats which may exceed in length. The base of the tube is encased in a calyx of keeled, ribbed sepals. The flower corolla is flat and five-lobed. In drier environments, the corolla-lobes may be narrower and curled, and the plant may be shorter or grow up through other shrubs.
Taxonomy In 1859 botanist John Torrey scientifically described a new variety of Phlox speciosa which he named stansburyi. In 1897 Amos Arthur Heller reevaluated it and classified it as the species Phlox stansburyi. It is classified in the Phlox genus as part of the Polemoniaceae family. It has twelve synonyms.
Table of Synonyms Name Year Rank Notes Phlox grayi 1913 species = het. Phlox longifolia subsp. brevifolia 1951 subspecies = het. Phlox longifolia var. brevifolia 1878 variety = het. Phlox longifolia subvar. brevifolia 1871 subvariety = het. Phlox longifolia f. brevifolia 1870 form = het. Phlox longifolia var. stansburyi 1870 variety ≡ hom. Phlox speciosa var. stansburyi 1859 variety ≡ hom. Phlox stansburyi var. brevifolia 1899 variety = het. Phlox stansburyi subsp. eustansburyi 1907 subspecies ≡ hom., not validly publ. Phlox stansburyi subvar. microcalyx 1907 subvariety = het. Phlox stansburyi subsp. superba 1942 subspecies = het. Phlox superba 1907 species = het. Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym; = heterotypic synonym
References and external links
Jepson Manual Treatment Photo gallery