Phlox triovulata is very conspicuous by virtue of the striking pattern of the flower. The innermost area is a five pointed deep purple star, surrounded by a sunburst pattern of white. The largest portion of the petals is pink purple. The stems and leaves are hairy gray-green but not glandular (as in Phlox nana). Phlox triovulata is found at middle elevation on dry, gravelly hillsides.

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Stems loosely erect, 8-30 cm tall, often branched, puberulent or sparsely pilose, herbage not glandular.

Leaves: Ascending or spreading, linear, 25-50 mm long, 1-3 mm wide, glabrous to sparsely pilose.

Flowers: Terminal inflorescence with calyx 10-15 mm long, loosely pilose; corolla pink, tube 15-16 mm long, lobes broadly obovate in outline, 12-15 mm wide and about as long, erose to emarginate.

Fruits: Ovoid capsule.

Ecology: Found on dry slopes from 4,000-7,500 ft (1219-2286 m); flowers April-September.

Notes: There is only a single collection of this species in the Chiricahua Mountains, so this is worth collecting to verify its distribution. Distinguished from the similar P. nana by its not being glandular, where the latter is copiously so with very narrowly linear leaves.

Ethnobotany: Unknown, but other species in the genera have uses.

Etymology: Phlox is from the Greek phlox, or flame, while triovulata means having three ovules.

Synonyms: Phlox nana subsp. glabella

Editor: SBuckley, 2010