Some kind of Phlox? In wildlife management area, AL near FL border, pics from yesterday. This plant was around a foot tall, completely unremarkable except the bright pink blooms. TIA!

My guess would be phlox pilosa/prairie phlox.

it has a sweet scent to it, I have woodland phlox in my yard. It is a bit more blue colored than that one, but looks the same. It is a perennial. Mine only likes morning sun and rich welldrained soil, I guess yours is the same there, but not sure on that. Yours will probably re-seed? Mine is hybrid variety no doubt, I bought it at big box store, had it a couple years now and have not notices any seedlings. They are a little finicky about being transplanted, doesnt like the roots disturbed too much, at least in my experience. I planted mine w hosta and coral bells..

Thanks for the replies!

Frilly, IDK a thing about it, just found it exploring yesterday. That makes my find extra fun, that you found this plant at a store, assuming P. pilosa - a native that's pretty enough for commerce spotted in the wild. Wish I would have thought to sniff. ;)

I'm having trouble fitting it to a typical Phlox pilosa. The leaves match more closely Phlox glaberrima, and the flower tubes are long but that species is 'smooth'.

http://www.southeasternflora.c...

Phlox pilosa usually have hairy flower tubes, and the calyx is longer than the tube. The petals look a little blunt too.

http://www.southeasternflora.c...



I begun to wonder if the two species crossed, so I search for crosses. I found confusion.

https://books.google.co.uk/boo...

https://polemoniaceae.wordpres...

Yes!

Extensive polymorphism for the cross compatibility
of Phlox pilosa with P. glaberrima occurs
within Illinois populations.

http://www.pnas.org/content/70...

That's really interesting, Janet! I thought it could have been either but leaned toward pilosa. Now I know why it was so hard to tell for sure.

It does explain why it was messing with my head too Jeanie.

Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata 'Parksville Beach')

this is what I thought it was?

Woodland phlox, at least the ones I have around here, have wider more rounded leaves and are generally shorter. There could be a variety with which I am not familiar.

Mine have a narrow leaf, some of that may depend on the richness of the soil, the better the soil, the larger the leaves grow. I have some plants that looked scrawny for a long time, but then moved them and voom! they grew and I couldn't believe it because they have never reached that size before

The flower looks like Phlox amoena but it has opposite hairy leaves.

http://www.alabamaplants.com/P...

Have I found it?

First page leads to more pages, on the second page is Phlox floridana. I noticed the leaves on the ID plant are alternate as well as opposite.

http://www.theprimrosepath.com...

Phlox floridana (Florida phlox) - Range: Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Habitat: sandy open woods. Height: 25 to 50cm. Bloom time: summer. Flower color: purple to pink. This is similar to subspecies of P. pilosa and has not entered horticulture.

http://www.theprimrosepath.com...

It has some alternate leaves ...

http://florida.plantatlas.usf....

http://www.floraofalabama.org/...

There's several herbarium specimens, the leaves vary in shape. They are opposite lower on the stem with a few scattered single alternate leaves at the top. The last specimen shows some leaves near the top not far apart like the ID plant has, and with varying leaf shapes. The flower tube is long.

http://www.floraofalabama.org/...

List of species ..

http://www.floraofalabama.org/...

http://www.afnn.org/plants/det...

The name is accepted ..

http://www.theplantlist.org/tp...

TY so much for the investigations & replies! P. floridana looks like a match, fits with the location and timing. What an awesomely cool find! I was favoring the Clematis but this is just as amazing.

You have found some very interesting plants Tiffany.

TY! We like to get out there & check things out. We also saw a black racer snake and a beaver! Tons of birds. ;)

And some wild Petunias!


This swampy area is the result of a beaver dam.

I love the dam, it's full of waterlilies!

Awesome place!