Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures by color ( Purple ), 1 by sunnydove

sunnydove wrote:
Pointed Phlox (Phlox cuspidate)
Phlox Family (Polemoniaceae)
Blooms February-May. Delicate annual 2 ¼-6 in. high: stem slender, usually branched in upper portion. Flower is ½ - 3/4 in. across, light to rosy pink or purplish, sweetly fragrant, trumpet shaped, 5-lobed at rim, the lobes spreading flat, narrowed at base, wider and sharp-pointed at tip. Flowers numerous or with only few opening at one time, forming terminal clusters. Leaves to 1 1/4 in. long, ¼ in wide, stalkless, opposite in lower portion of plant, becoming alternate and narrower in upper portion; margins entire.
Habitat is sandy or loamy soils in grasslands, prairies and open oak woodlands. It reseeds readily & usually forms extensive colonies. It is frequently found growing with sandwort, blue-eyed grass, Indian paintbrush and yellow star-grass.

I have tons of this growing on my acreage here just a few miles south of San Antonio and the butterflies love it. It was the first show of color here. This photo and info are from the Texas Native Wildflowers book (my mom has). I will have to take a couple photos tomorrow & post one or two, so you can really see the effect of them in mass.

Judy