''Phlox hoodii'', the spiny phlox or carpet phlox, 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 ...

. It is a plant of western North America, where it is a common flower in

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus ''Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub ''Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west. Following is an alph ...

country, mostly growing in dry

lithosol Orthents are soils defined in USDA soil taxonomy as entisols that lack due to either steep slopes or parent materials that contain no permanent weatherable minerals (such as ironstone). Typically, Orthents are exceedingly shallow soils. They ar ...

habitats. It is among the first plants to bloom in

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

, after the

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

has melted. Its distribution extends from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

.US Forest Service Fire Ecology
/ref> There are many subspecies. This

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 ...

is variable in morphology, but usually forms a tight mat or loose clump on the ground. The short stems emerge from a woody

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

and

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...

unit and the plant form is no more than tall. The abundant tiny, sharp-pointed leaves are oppositely arranged and barely exceed long. The herbage is hairy in texture, the hairs short to long, woolly to cobwebby. The appearance of the plant is almost

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

like until blooming.USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
/ref> 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 in shades of white, pink, or blue. It has a tubular throat about long spreading into a flat five-lobed corolla.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Phlox hoodii'' (Spiny phlox)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Phlox hoodii'' ssp ''canescens''UC CalPhotos gallery
hoodii Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Western Canada Flora of the Great Basin Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of Subarctic America Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Polemoniaceae-stub