Wildflowers!
by Jane Scully
 Wild Blue Phlox
(Phlox divaricata)
This beautiful species of the Phlox family displays a loose cluster of slightly fragrant flowers that range in color from light blue to purple. The five petals are notched, almost wedge-shaped, and are about 1 inch wide and look like a delicate pinwheel. The flowers radiate from the tip of the plant's stem, unfurling from a slender trumpet-shaped tube into the open face.
The plant grows to between 10 and 20 inches high in rich, open woods during April, May and June. Sometimes its blooming period overlaps that of the Virginia bluebells, another blue beauty. And like the bluebell, it often carpets the woodlands floor with its nodding flowers.
The leaves of the wild blue phlox are opposite one another along the somewhat sticky stem and can be lance-shaped, egg-shaped or oblong, 1 to 2 inches in length. Leafy, creeping shoots grow at the stem's base.
Wild blue phlox has a wide habitat, growing as far north as Quebec and Vermont and south to South Carolina. Go and see it while it is at its peak! Check the Nature Finder to check out the best spots to see it!
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