Longleaf Phlox
Phlox longifolia
Phlox family (Polemoniaceae)
Look for conspicuous clumps of this phlox along trails and at roadside. This is one of several common phlox in the region. At low altitudes in our area, Long Leaf Phlox contrasts in many ways with Hood's Phlox (P. hoodii), which has a woolly appearance with cobweb-like hairs and needle-like leaves, forming dense mats on dry open soils.
A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.
lobe -- A rounded parts of a leaf (or other organ).
A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.
ribbed -- having prominent, narrow parallel protrusions that extend over most of its length or circumference.
capsule -- a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. In most cases the capsule splits apart to release seeds.
calyx -- the sepals of a flower, typically forming a whorl that encloses the petals and forms a protective layer around a flower in bud.
fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.
In an opposite leaf arrangement the leaves come in pairs with one leaf on each side of a stem.
linear -- Long and very narrow like a blade of grass.