Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Phlox divaricata var. divaricata
FAMILY
Polemoniaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
An easy Phlox to identify in NC, as it is the only one in the state with blue-tinged flowers (not rose to pink). Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The documented distinction between var. divaricata and var. laphamii is morphologically relatively trivial, but is well-correlated with geography. Read more by downloading Weakley's Flora (2022).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Phlox divaricata ssp. divaricata
FAMILY
Polemoniaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 159-01-004:
Phlox divaricata FAMILY Polemoniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Phlox divaricata var. divaricata
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phlox divaricata
COMMON NAME:
Eastern Blue Phlox, Timber Phlox, Blue Woodland Phlox, Wild Blue Phlox
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm160421_342
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Fragrant clusters of lavender-blue flowers, per Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002).
)
JK Marlow jkm160421_343
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Sepals acuminate to very slightly awned, the awn 0-0.5mm long; corolla tube glabrous, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
)
JK Marlow jkm160421_345
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Leaves in widely spaced pairs, ovate-lanceolate to oblong, 1.2-2", per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm170414_626
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm170414_627
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm170414_628
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
P. divaricata's flowers are light blue-violet, not pinkish-purplish like other Phlox species, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm170414_629
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_phlox_divaricata
April
Stamens shorter than corolla tube (thus included); corolla lobes notched at the apex, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_phlox_divaricata_3
April
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Phlox divaricata var. divaricata
FAMILY
Polemoniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Phlox divaricata ssp. divaricata
FAMILY
Polemoniaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 159-01-004:
Phlox divaricata
FAMILY
Polemoniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Phlox divaricata var. divaricata
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phlox divaricata
1057
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Moist deciduous forests in circumneutral soils, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina & Georgia
Uncommon in NC Mountains, rare elsewhere in Carolinas
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Bluish
Radially symmetrical
5-merous
5-lobed salverform corolla
5 included stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p217
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p134
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p158
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p248
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p428
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p074
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p204
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p241
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p133
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".