Phlox pilosa
| Phlox pilosa | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Polemoniaceae |
| Genus: | Phlox |
| Species: | P. pilosa
|
| Binomial name | |
| Phlox pilosa | |
Phlox pilosa, the downy phlox or prairie phlox, is an herbaceous plant in the family Polemoniaceae. It is native to eastern North America, where it is found in open areas such as prairies and woodlands.[1]
Description
Downy phlox is a
opposite leaves. Each flower has five lobes (petals) that are pale pink, lavender, or purple, and is 1⁄2–3⁄4 in (13–19 mm) across.[2][3]
-
Downy phlox blooming in its natural habitat, in a Wisconsin prairie. (The large-leafed plant is Silphium terebinthinaceum.)
Ecology
The flowers produce pollen on anthers near the end of the corolla tube, and nectar at the bottom of the corolla. Only butterflies, moths, skippers, and very long-tongued bees (the largest
phlox moth (Schinia indiana).[5]
The flowers are
anthers and picks up pollen. When they roll up their proboscis and move to the next flower, some pollen remains and is transferred to the stigma as they insert their proboscis into the next flower.[4]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Phlox pilosa.
- ^ Weakley, Alan S. (2016). "Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States".
- ^ Chayka, Katy; Dziuk, Peter (2016). "Phlox pilosa (Prairie Phlox)". Minnesota Wildflowers. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ISBN 0-940672-46-4.
- ^ a b Heather Holm (2014). Pollinators on Native Plants. Minnetonka, MN: Pollinator Press. pp. 108–109.
- ISBN 978-1604695984.
External links
- Native Plant Database profile, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin
- Missouri Botanical Garden
- Illinois Wildflowers
- Missouri Plants