A great Western North American Phlox not often seen in cultivation. Locally this clumping dryland phlox can be found across the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada Range. I see it most often on dry slopes with an eastern exposure, were it gets light shade in the late afternoon. Colors range from pure white through rich, bright shades of pink. In full bloom the blossoms can literally conseal the foliage.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PHSP
http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?ID=3360
http://www.pnwflowers.com/flower/phlox-speciosa
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/ofp/phl_spe.htm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/record_species_294_17_20...
Comments
Re: Phlox speciosa
Mark
Janel Johnson is a field botanist/ecologist with the U.S Fish and Wild Life Service and has the honor of being the president of the Nevada Native Plant Society.
She is well worth knowing and a good friend.
Re: Phlox speciosa
Excellent. Yes, I noticed her name on the NNPS web site. There are some splendid plants being shown in those photo galleries. Some images doen't indicate plant IDs, I may have to inquire on some of them. You are fortunate to have a knowledgeable botanist as a friend.
Awesome species, I have encountered it a number of times, and it's always a beauty.
I see there are 6 varieties of this species; one that I grew from plants sent to me by the late Sonia Lowzow Collins in Showlow Arizona is Phlox speciosa ssp. woodhousei (at the time, I grew it simply as Phlox woodhousei). Wish I still had it.
John, so I check out the first link you provided, which led me to this selected photo on USDA:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=phsp_005_ahp.tif
From there, I noticed on that image page a link for the Nevada Native Plant Society... dare I say, I clicked... then while checking out the NNPS website (I used to be a member many years ago), I found photo galleries, with led me to...
Picasa Web Albums of Janel Johnson, Nevada Native Plant Society ;-)
https://picasaweb.google.com/106490862382896714682
https://picasaweb.google.com/106490862382896714682/SilverPeakFieldTrip?f...
...which led me to the realization that, armchair botanizing is a serious addiction! John, I only clicked on your first link, and 2 hours elapsed! I must save clicking on the other links to another day ;)