Phlox pulvinata

Carpet phlox

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Carpet phlox is a California native perennial found in the Sierra Nevada and eastern Sierra Nevada in dry, rocky areas, subalpine forest, and alpine fell-fields at elevations of 3,300 to 4,300 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces white or pale pink flowers with delicate tubular corollas in solitary terminal blooms. Growing in densely matted or cushion-like formations, it spreads low across rocky mountain terrain with compact stems. Its leaves are small, narrow lanceolate blades 4 to 10 millimeters long with coarse ciliate edges that lie nearly flat against the plant. The plant forms tight, compact mats that hug the rocky alpine landscape, creating resilient ground cover in harsh high-elevation environments.

Habitat: Dry, rocky areas, subalpine forest, alpine fell-fields

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 3300-4300 m

Bioregions: SNH, SNE

California counties: Inyo, Mono, Tuolumne, Fresno, Tulare, Siskiyou, Modoc, Alpine

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