Slender phlox

Microsteris gracilis

''Microsteris'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the phlox family containing the single species ''Microsteris gracilis'', known by the common name slender phlox.

The segregation of this species into a genus of its own is controversial, and many botanists continue to include the plant in genus ''Phlox''. Genetic analysis is continuing.
Tiny Trumpet  Geotagged,Microsteris gracilis,United States,Winter

Appearance

''Microsteris gracilis'' is an annual herb which is variable in shape, taking a decumbent, branching, sometimes almost tuftlike form or growing erect and very slender. Its maximum height approaches 20 centimeters, but it may be much smaller.

The lance-shaped leaves are 1 to 3 centimeters long and oppositely arranged except for the upper ones, which are alternate. The herbage is glandular and hairy in texture. The inflorescence at the top of the stem bears one or more small flowers.

The flower has a tubular throat around a centimeter long encased in a tubular calyx of sepals. The flat corolla has five flat-tipped or notched lobes just 1 or 2 millimeters long. The flower is white to bright pink with a yellowish throat.
Slender Phlox  Geotagged,Microsteris gracilis,Spring,United States

Distribution

''Microsteris gracilis'' is native to western North America from northwestern Canada to the American Midwest and West Coast, through Mexico, as well as parts of South America. It is native to all the diverse plant communities in California.

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Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderEricales
FamilyPolemoniaceae
GenusMicrosteris
SpeciesM. gracilis