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Family: Polemoniaceae (Jacob's-ladder family)
Mid-Atlantic bloom time: April - May
Wild Blue Phlox can be found in rich, well-drained floodplain and slope forests. It has two varieties: var. divaricata, the variety most often found in the mid-Atlantic area, which has petals notched at their tips; and var. laphamii, usually found west of our area, which lacks the petal notches. Their reproductive structures are not exerted (i.e.,protruding beyond the petals), and are typically well within the flower tube, often not even visible.
Note: Wild Blue Phlox flowers often appear at the same and in a similar habitat as Wild Pink (Silene caroliniana), which they may superficially resemble. Wild Pink's petals are usually more jagged (pinked) at their tips, and their reproductive structures are typically exerted beyond the petals.
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2 April 2006
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Park, Glen Echo, MD 
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11 April 2018
Riverbend Park, Great Falls, VA 
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25 April 2020
Great Falls National Park, Great Falls, VA 
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25 April 2013
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Park, Sharpsburg, MD (nearly white variant) 
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25 April 2020
Great Falls National Park, Great Falls, VA 
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11 April 2018
Riverbend Park, Great Falls, VA 
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30 March 2024
Balls Bluff Regional Park, Leesburg, VA 
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30 March 2024
Balls Bluff Regional Park, Leesburg, VA 
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