Phlox diffusa

Spreading phlox

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Spreading phlox is a California native perennial found in areas excluding the desert, primarily in dry, open mountain habitats at elevations of 1,100 to 3,600 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces delicate white to pink or pale blue flowers with slender tubular corollas 9 to 13 millimeters long. Growing with decumbent stems that form a nearly matted ground cover, it spreads in low, compact clusters with a somewhat prostrate growth habit. Its leaves are narrow lance-linear, 10 to 15 millimeters long, predominantly glabrous with a distinctive white-woolly base, creating a soft textural appearance across rocky mountain landscapes. The plant's compact, low-growing form makes it well-adapted to high-elevation, exposed mountain environments.

Habitat: Dry, open areas

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 1100-3600 m

Bioregions: CA (exc D)

California counties: Fresno, Kern, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Tulare, Madera, Mono, Alpine, Plumas, Ventura, Siskiyou, Mariposa, Amador, Sierra, Nevada, Modoc, Shasta, Trinity, El Dorado, Lassen, Butte, Del Norte, Glenn, Mendocino, Tuolumne, Placer, Tehama, Humboldt, Lake, Calaveras

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.