98 Phlox maculata.
becoming shorter as they approach the panicle until they are entirely
heart-shaped—all slightly scabrous on the margin, and of a pale-green
beneath. Flowers very numerous and showy, arranged in a cluster or
dense panicle. Peduncles short, each furnished with a minute, subulate,
scale-like bract. Calices narrow, discoloured, acute; margins of
the segments membranaceous. Flowers rose-red. Petals obcuneate.
Tube an inch long, narrow and arcuate. Delights in damp meadows
and the margins of water courses; flowering in June and July; very
common.
This is the most elegant of our native species of Phlox, and is well
worth cultivation in gardens, where it thrives exceedingly well
without any particular attention. Care, however, should be taken to
plant it in a moist and shady spot. Occasional varieties appear under
culture in which the petals are variously streaked with white.
The table represents the plant of its natural size.
