Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Mediterranean chaparral
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Spines
Status: Uncommon

About

Prickly Phlox is a sprawling California native shrub that carpets chaparral hillsides with clusters of white to pale-pink tubular flowers, each marked with a bright yellow throat. Its sharp, needle-tipped leaves earned it the 'prickly' name, yet the blossoms draw sphinx moths and native bees that hover to reach the nectar deep inside.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ericales
Family: Polemoniaceae
Genus: Linanthus
Species: Linanthus californicus