PLANT: Subshrub, 1-4 dm tall, branching mostly below the middle; stems ascending to erect, glandular and pilose.
LEAVES: opposite below, alternate above, palmately to pinnately lobed, the 3-9 lobes linear to narrowly oblong, glabrous to pubescent, spinulose, the upper leaves subtending clusters of short leaves.
FLOWERS: calyx 6-10 mm long, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, the lobes slightly unequal, usually shorter than the tube; corolla nocturnal, closed during the day, salverform, 14-20(25) mm long, cream to ligh yelloworange, the throat often tinged lavender or purple; stamens 5, inserted on the upper tube; stigmas 3; ovary with 3 locules.
NOTES: Sandy to rocky soils, shrubland, coniferous forest and woodland; Apache, Coconino, Navajo cos.; 1700-2100 m (5600-7000 ft); May-Sep. B.C. to MT, s to CA and NM.
REFERENCES: Dieter H. Wilken and J. Mark Porter, 2005, Vascular Plants of Arizona: Polemoniaceae. CANOTIA 1: 1-37.
General: Perennial subshrub, 10-60 cm tall; stems ascending to erect, branching below the middle, finely puberulent or glandular-puberulent; caudex woody, branched.
Leaves: Cauline, numerous, crowded, opposite below, alternate above, palmately to pinnately lobed, 5-12 mm long, the lobes 3-9, linear to awl-shaped, rigid, glabrous to pubescent, the apices spine-tipped, the upper leaves subtending clusters of axillary leaves.
Flowers: Inflorescence of 2-5 flowers in compact leafy-bracted clusters terminating the branches; flowers nearly sessile; calyx narrowly campanulate, 6-10 mm long, glabrous to pubescent; corolla salverform, 8-15 mm long, white, the throat yellow, puberulent; style slightly exserted; flowers May-September.
Fruits: Capsule, ovoid to oblong, 3.5-5 mm long, 3-locular; seeds several per locule.
Ecology: Shrublands, woodlands, open pine forests, rocky to sandy soils; 500-2400 m (1500-8000 ft); Apache, Coconino, Mohave, and Navajo counties; western U.S. and Canada, northern Mexico.
Notes: Leptosiphon nuttallii is distinguished from Linanthus pungens by its softer leaves, smaller corolla (8-15 mm long), and yellow throat. The Navajo use prickly phlox to treat scorpion stings and kidney disease.
Editor: Springer et al. 2008
