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Long-leaved Phlox
Phlox longifolia Nutt.
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Family: Polemoniaceae,
Phlox
Genus: Phlox
Description
General: perennial from an eventual taproot, but often
branched and creeping below the ground level, 10-40 cm
tall, often woody at the base, hairless to strongly glandular,
especially among the flowers, or hairy.
 Leaves: opposite, mostly 1.5-8 cm long and 1-3 mm
wide, the pairs well spaced on the stem.
 Flowers: sweet-scented, few to several in clusters with
leafy bracts at bases. The flower stalks well-developed,
slender. The membranes between the 5 ribs of the calyx
strongly and permanently keeled toward the base. Corolla
pink to white, the tube 10-18 mm long, 1-2 times as long as
the calyx, the lobes 7-15 mm long, entire or slightly ragged,
half as long to fully as long as the tube. Filaments mostly
attached above the middle of the corolla tube, often some of
the anthers partly protruding. Style elongate, 6-15 mm long,
several times as long as the linear stigmas.
Flowering time: April-July.
 Fruits: capsules, elliptic, splitting along 3 lines,
containing few seeds.
Distribution
Dry, open rocky places, from the lowlands to moderate or
occasionally high elevations in the mountains, in w. and s.
parts of MT. Also from WA and s. B.C. to s. CA, eastward
to w. WY, CO, and NM.
 Medicinal plant, see below. |
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(click on image for full size)
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(click on images for full size)
Medicinal Uses:
Long-leaved phlox was used medicinally by several native tribes, the Havasupai, Okanagan-Colville, the Paiute, the Shoshoni and Washo Indians among others. A decoction of pounded roots was rubbed all over the body for colds or aches, it was also given to babies with stomachaches. An infusion of the whole plant was given to "anemic" children. An infusion of mashed roots was taken for diarrhea.
A decoction of the entire plant was taken for stomach disorders, and an infusion of roots was given to children for stomachaches. Externally, a decoction of leaves was put on boils, and an infusion or decoction of roots was used as an eyewash.
Varieties:
Our specimen belong to ssp. longifolia Nutt. |
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