BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Phlox hoodii | Hood's Phlox 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Hood's phlox is a compact, pulvinate to cespitose, perennial native forb
growing from 0.8 to 3.1 inches (2-8 cm) tall [22].  The seeds are
miniscule (0.08 to 0.12 inch [2-3 mm] long) [25].  Taproots branch from
a pluricipital caudex and are from 12 to 37 inches (30-95 cm) deep.
Roots near the surface are woody, and vary from 0.4 to 2.0 inches (1-5
cm) in diameter [2,13,46].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Chamaephyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Hood's phlox reproduces from seed.  Lepidoptera are the principal
pollinators of the small flowers [14].  Studies of seed germination
requirements and viability are scant.  One study [18] conducted in a
singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla)-Utah juniper (Juniperus
osteosperma) community in Utah showed that germinants were unable to
establish in heavy duff.

Hood's phlox will sprout from spreading rootstocks following damage to
aboveground portions of the plant [1].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Hood's phlox occurs on xeric sites.  In the more mesic locations, it is
found on dry microsites such as south slopes and windward exposures
[6,8].  Climates vary but are characterized by seasonal periods of low
precipitation and extremes of temperature [9,26].  Soils are moderately
acidic to moderately alkaline [26].  In North Park, Colorado, soil pH at
sites where Hood's phlox occurred ranged from 6.2 to 8.1 [4].  Structure
and texture of soils vary.  In southwestern Saskatchewan, Hood's phlox
is found in many types of soil but is most common in heavy clay [26].
Hood's phlox also grows in a variety of soils in the Great Basin but is
most common in loamy-skeletal and silty-coarse soils [38].

Elevational ranges of Hood's phlox in several western states are as
follows:

                       feet             meters
     California   4,000 -  8,000     1,219 - 2,438 [37]
     Colorado     5,000 -  9,000     1,524 - 2,743 [25]
     Utah         4,672 - 10,448     1,460 - 3,265 [46]

In Arizona, Hood's phlox has a very limited distribution and occurs at
approximately the 4,000-foot (1,219 m) level [29].

Associated overstory species not listed in Distribution and Occurrence
include Utah juniper, California juniper (Juniperus californica), true
pinyon (Pinus edulis), singleleaf pinyon (P. monophylla), Mormon-tea
(Ephedra viridis), gray rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus), low
rabbitbrush (C. viscidiflorus), silver sagebrush (Artemisia cana),
shadscale (A. confertifolia), and winterfat (Ceratoides lanata)
[4,20,32,47].  Some associated groundcover species are bluebunch
wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), thickspike wheatgrass (Elymus
lanceolatus), Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda), mutton bluegrass (P.
fendleriana), needle-and-thread (Stipa comata), stonyhills muhly
(Muhlenbergia cuspidata), junegrass (Koeleria cristata), needleleaf
sedge (Carex eleocharis), threadleaf sedge (C. filifolia), oblongleaf
bluebell (Mertensia oblongifolia), Hooker balsamroot (Balsamorhiza
hookeri var. hispiduala), pulse poison vetch (Astragalus tenellus),
stemless goldenweed (Haplopappus acaulis), fringed sagebrush (Artemisia
frigida), pussytoes (Antennaria spp.), plains pricklypear, and clubmoss
(Selaginella densa) [4,12,20,26,42].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Series

Hood's phlox is a seral species, generally most frequent in early seral
stages but persisting through climax [15].  It is abundant, for example,
in seral stages of wheatgrass-muhly mixed grass prairie communities in
Saskatchewan [12].  A study of plant community composition in a true
pinyon-Utah juniper community in northeastern Utah showed that Hood's
phlox populations were greatly reduced from previous levels in the
climax woodland [3].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
In Saskatchewan and Alberta, growth begins in early April.  Plants
flower in late April and again in August if soil moisture is sufficient.
Seeds resulting from the first flowering ripen in mid-June [12].  The
period of seed maturation following the second flowering is unreported.

Hood's phlox flowers from May to July in California [37], depending
upon elevation.

Related categories for Species: Phlox hoodii | Hood's Phlox