Kelsey'S Phlox
(Phlox kelseyi)
Description
A somewhat fleshy-textured shrublet 7-15cm tall and a little wider. Leaves narrowly lanceolate, acuminate, 1.2-2.5cm long, coarsely ciliate at the base and variably pubescent. Flowers pungently fragrant, 1.5-1.8cm across, lilac to lavender or white with a bluish lustre, in clusters of one to five, late spring to summer. Montana to Utah and Colorado, in the Rocky Mountains at moderate altitudes in saline or strongly calcareous grassland. P.k. salina has somewhat shorter, fleshier leaves and larger, lavender, pink or white, faintly scented blooms. (In saline marshland which dries out in summer). It seems doubtful if this plant would adapt to cultivation, and plants under the name kelseyi in commerce are generally other dwarf species.
Taxonomic tree:
