''Phlox austromontana'' is a species of
phlox
''Phlox'' (; Greek φλόξ "flame"; plural "phlox" or "phloxes", Greek φλόγες ''phlóges'') is a genus of 67 species of perennial and annual plants in the family Polemoniaceae. They are found mostly in North America (one in Siberia) in di ...
known by the common name mountain phlox. It is native to the southwestern United States and
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
, where it grows in forested and wooded mountain habitat, scrub, and open areas. It is a mat-forming
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
herb
In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
growing in patches of very short stems. The lance-shaped leaves are no more than 1.5 centimeters long and are arranged oppositely in pairs on the short stems. The
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
is a solitary flower at the tip of each stem. The flower is white or light pink or lavender with five rounded lobes. It is just over a centimeter long.
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
austromontana
Flora of North America
{{Polemoniaceae-stub