POLEMONIACEAE POLEMONIUM FAMILY 
BLUE PHLOX 
Phlox divaricata L. 
This is a common spring flower in woods. It blooms from 
April to June and is found from Quebec to Ontario and Minne- 
sota, south to Florida and Louisiana. Throughout Illinois it is 
common and in northern 
woodlands is particularly 
abundant. 
The slender under- 
ground stem is perennial 
and bears aerial shoots 
that are partly creeping 
and partly ascending up 
to 1 foot in height. The 
leafy shoots remain green 
all winter and begin 
growing very early in 
spring. Leaves of the 
sterile shoots are ordi- 
narily less pointed than 
those of the flowering 
stem. 
The narrow green 
teeth of the calyx are 
considerably longer than 
the tube. The pale lilac 
or bluish corolla con- 
sists of a narrow tube 
and a flat 5-lobed, very 
rarely 6-lobed, limb. Usually the lobes are notched at the end 
but sometimes are entire. The 5 short stamens are attached 
at different heights in the corolla tube. The pistil consists of a 
3-celled ovary, a slender style and 3 stigmas. The fruit is a 
capsule containing usually 3 seeds. 
The Wild Sweet William, Phlox maculata L., is a less common 
Phlox of northern Illinois prairies, found infrequently throughout. 
It is striking because of the 3-4-inch clusters of large reddish purple 
flowers, which sometimes have a deep purple eye, and the purple- 
spotted stem 1-3 feet high. 
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