Phlox stansburyi

Cold desert phlox

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Cold desert phlox is a California native perennial found in desert and semi-arid regions of the western United States in open shrublands and rocky areas. Flowering from spring to early summer, this plant produces delicate pink to white flowers with tubular corollas 9 to 35 millimeters long. Growing with branched stems that often lean and weave through surrounding shrubs, it reaches heights of 15 to 30 centimeters with a woody base. Its leaves are lance-linear to lance-ovate, measuring 1 to 11 centimeters long and covered in soft glandular hairs that give the plant a slightly fuzzy appearance. The plant's ability to grow through and among other shrubs, combined with its delicate flowers and hairy foliage, makes it a distinctive component of cold desert ecosystems.

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Mono, Lassen, Modoc, Amador, Alpine, Sierra, Trinity, El Dorado

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