Blue phlox (wild sweet William).
Julianna Schroeder
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Blue Phlox (Wild Sweet William)
Phlox divaricata
Family:
Polemoniaceae (phloxes)
Description:
A perennial herb with lance-shaped, evergreen leaves and showy, rounded clusters of (usually) lavender flowers. Flowers tubular with 5 lobes, the lobes spreading, somewhat heart-shaped, with or without fine notches, in varying colors: pale blue-purple, red-purple, rose-lavender, rarely white. Blooms April–June. Leaves opposite, lance-shaped, spaced apart, to 2 inches long, finely hairy. Dark green, leafy shoots spread from base, take root, and persist through the winter.
Size:
Height: to 1 foot.
Habitat and conservation:
Occurs in rich or rocky soils in open woods, thickets, wet streamsides, bottomlands, usually in partial or full shade, but sometimes in full sun. A native to much of the eastern United States, blue phlox is also found in cultivation, and some forms have been created just for gardening.
Distribution in Missouri:
Statewide, except for the southeast lowlands.
Human connections:
Blue phlox does well in wildflower gardens, thriving in shade or part-shade, in rich soils. Be sure you get your plants from an ethical native-plant nursery; don't dig them from the wild.
Ecosystem connections:
Butterflies are attracted to this species of phlox, and several animals eat the plant, as well.
Great Places to See Blue Phlox (Wild Sweet William)
About Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants in Missouri
A very simple way of thinking about the green world is to divide the vascular plants into two groups: woody and nonwoody (or herbaceous). But this is an artificial division; many plant families include some species that are woody and some that are not. The diversity of nonwoody vascular plants is staggering! Think of all the ferns, grasses, sedges, lilies, peas, sunflowers, nightshades, milkweeds, mustards, mints, and mallows — weeds and wildflowers — and many more!
