Downy Phlox, Prairie Phlox, Phlox pilosa L., Minnesota native wildflowers, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Downy Phlox	Phlox pilosa L.	Phlox (Polemoniaceae)	Upland	Late Spring to Early summer
Other names and notes	(Prairie Phlox). This is an erect perennial growing from 6 inches to 24 inches high. The 5-parted pink flowers are 1/2 to 3/4" wide and look like a typical phlox flower. The lobes of the flower are not notched (unlike Moss Pink, Phlox subulata) and the flower tube is somewhat hairy. The inflorescence is a loosely branched cluster of individually stalked flowers atop an unbranched stem which usually has fine white hairs. The leaves are lance like, opposite and have an abrupt sharp point. Stems grow from a taproot and are usually single, but multiple stems can occur. The plant grows in dry prairies and open woods. According to USDA there are 10 accepted varieties and subspecies of this plant.


Above left and right: The inflorescence with many branches atop an unbranched stem. Below: Note the fine hair on the stem, leaf edges, and on the tube of the unopened flower.

Notes: Downy Phlox is indigenous to the Garden area. In addition, Eloise Butler planted it in 1907, '08, and 1909. It is a plant of the Tall Grass Prairie. In North America the plant is native from the Dakotas south to Texas and then east to the coast. In Canada it is reported in Alberta and Ontario. Within Minnesota it is found in most counties except in a norther tier above and east of a diagonal line running from Carlton NW to Kittson, i.e. those not in a deciduous forest area. In Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania it is listed as "endangered".

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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