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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE PHLOX FAMILY | |||||||||
| The phlox family has few representatives in Saskatchewan. In this province, these plants are low-growing annual or perennial herbs. The leaves are simple or compound and may have entire or divided margins. The leaves can be alternate or opposite on the stem. The flowers are solitary in the leaf axils or in variously branched clusters. The flowers have five sepals, petals, and stamens. The sepals and petals are fused to form tubes. The petals are funnel-shaped and can be white to pink or lavender in colour. The fruit is a capsule. | |||||||||
| ALYSSUMLEAF PHLOX | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Phlox alyssifolia ssp. alyssifolia | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Alyssumleaf phlox grows up to 10 cm tall. The base of the stem is somewhat woody and the branches are nearly lying flat on the ground. The leaves are thick and linear in shape. The leaf margins are hard and sharp-pointed. The sepals have glandular hairs and bristle-tipped lobes. The pale blue or white petals are much longer than the sepals and are 15 to 20 mm long. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Alyssumleaf phlox grows in dry, eroded, stony, grassland ridge-slopes. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in south-central Saskatchewan in the Mixed Grassland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Alyssumleaf phlox is vulnerable because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan. Possible threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY ALYSSUMLEAF PHLOX | |||||||||
| * Are the petals white or pale blue? * Are the leaves simple, with hard edges and a sharp-pointed tip? * Are the petals 15 to 20 mm long? * Did you find in south-central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found alyssumleaf phlox! | |||||||||
