Friday, January 20, 2012

Green in Winter: Plant Quiz - Phlox divaricata

Good call, Scott! It is Phlox divaricata, Woodland Phlox, a common native plant in Midwestern forests.

Posted earlier: This plant shows up occasionally in mesic forests in winter. Barbara Plampin, Myrna Newgent and I used to see it as we explored the forests of northern Indiana on winter outings. We disagreed on its identification, so eventually I marked a colony and returned to it in the spring. Barbara had the identification correct - no surprise there! Can you name the plant? Feel free to name it or just take a guess.

This is how it looked in May, 2009 near Dowagiac, Michigan.

"Is not January the hardest month to get through? When you have weathered that, you get into the gulf stream of winter, nearer the shores of spring." Henry David Thoreau Journal, February 2, 1854.

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3 comments:

  1. Scott NamestnikJanuary 20, 2012 at 7:12 PM

    My initial reaction was Phlox divaricata, but I can't tell for sure if the leaves are opposite.

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  2. Scott NamestnikJanuary 21, 2012 at 8:47 AM

    So if there was disagreement on the ID when you, Myrna, and Barbara used to see it, what did others think it was?

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  3. Keith BoardJanuary 21, 2012 at 11:58 AM

    I believe Myrna also thought it was Phlox. I didn't know what it was, but was sure it wasn't Phlox for some reason.

    ReplyDelete