Phlox tenuifolia – Santa Catalina Mountain Phlox

Phlox tenuifolia - Santa Catalina Mountain Phlox, Vine Phlox, Desert Phlox

Phlox tenuifolia - Santa Catalina Mountain Phlox, Vine Phlox, Desert Phlox

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Phlox tenuifolia

Common Names: Santa Catalina Mountain Phlox, Vine Phlox, Desert Phlox

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Shrub, Subshrub, Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert, Upland. This showy wildflower grows on rocky slopes and in canyons in the mountain foothills. As its common name would indicate, a good place to see this plant is in Arizona's Santa Catalina Mountains.

Flower Color: White

Flowering Season: Spring, Fall

Height: To 39 inches (1 m) tall, but usually less

Description: The flowers are tubular, 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, and have 5 elongated, round-tipped lobes and a yellow throat. The leaves are dark green, opposite, narrowly linear in shape, and up to 2 inches (5 cm) long. In sunny locations, this plant is low and mounded, while in shady spots, it is taller, vine-like, and rambles through other plants.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Solanales
Family: Polemoniaceae – Phlox family
Genus: Phlox L. – phlox
Species: Phlox tenuifolia E.E. Nelson – Santa Catalina Mountain phlox

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map