[Phlox: The Genus Phlox Found East of
the Cascade Mts. of Oregon and Washington]
Showy Phlox
Phlox speciosa
Synonyms: Phlox speciosa ssp. lanceolata, Phlox speciosa ssp. lignosa, Phlox speciosa ssp. nitida, Phlox speciosa ssp. occidentalis, Phlox speciosa ssp. speciosa, Phlox speciosa var. nitida
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The photo at left shows showy phlox as seen from slopes above the east bank of the Columbia
River, north of Vantage, WA.........March 29, 2007. Note the notched petals. The photo at right shows showy phlox in bloom on BLM lands along the north rim of
Rock Creek about one-quarter mile south of the southern boundary of the Simcoe Mountains Unit, Klickitat Wildlife Area......April 15, 2021.
Characteristics:
Showy phlox is pretty perennial phlox with a shrubby base, with
multiple stems which may rise from 15 to 40 cm high. The herbage is glandular
to glandular-hairy above. The leaves are linear to broadly lanceolate, and to
7 cm long and 1 cm wide. The leaves are opposite on the stems, and are widely
spaced.
The inflorescence is a loose cyme. Individual corollas are pink
to white, usually with notched petal tips. The tube is 10 to 15 mm long, with
the lobes an equal length. The calyx is about equal in length to the tube. The
membranes between the calyx ribs are flat to slightly keeled. The style is very
short (0.5-2 mm long) and is divided near the base into 3 linear stigmas which
are longer than the style.
Habitat:
Showy phlox is a wildflower of sagebrush and ponderosa pine
habitats.
Range:
Showy phlox is found from the Okanogan valley of southern British
Columbia, south to the Oregon side of the Columbia River. It is also found in
southwestern Oregon and southward through the Sierra Nevada Mts into California.
Eastward, its distribution extends to northern Idaho and western Montana.
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Close-ups of the inflorescence of white-flowered forms of showy phlox as seen high on east-facing slopes of Burch Mt., several miles north of Wenatchee, WA.......June 6, 2009.
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Close-up views of the notched corolla lobes and glandular calyx of showy phlox as seen on Wedge Mt., Wenatchee National Forest..........June 5, 2009. Note that the membranes between each calyx lobe are flat and not keeled outwards like the narrow bottom of a sailboat. The keeled membrane between calyx lobes is a similar characteristic of the similar
longleaf phlox (
Phlox longifolia).
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Showy phlox as seen at a small borrow pit along Road 35 about one-half mile uphill from the southern forest boundary on Table Mountain, Wenatchee National Forest.........June 4, 2013.
Showy phlox as seen at Brooks Memorial State Park near Satus Park, Washington...........May 19, 2014.
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Showy phlox as observed along Dipping Vat Road on DNR lands between the Wenas and Oak Creek Wildlife Area, Yakima County, WA......May 24, 2019.
Showy phlox blooming on scabland slopes above a small creek at Brooks Memorial State Park off US 97 near Satus Pass.......May 13, 2019.
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The 3 photos above show Showy Phlox from the Columbia Hills
in the eastern Columbia River Gorge.
Paul Slichter