The Phlox Family
What are they?
This family is largely represented in the UK by a range of annual and herbaceous perennial species that have been introduced from North America. The leaves and growth style are highly variable between the species, but the flowers typically have five, broadly overlapping petals and are carried in terminal clusters.
Where are they found?
In our region, these are all non-native species, so are most likely to occur as garden escapes or where garden waste has been dumped.
Identification
The rather small number of species that have been recorded in East Anglia should present no problems ith identification. The combination of flower structure and leaf shape should identify any species found.
Paniculate Phlox Phlox paniculata
Introduced from North America. Very popular as a garden plant but rarely escaping, with less than 10 records in the East Anglian region. Flowers July to September. Herbaceous perennials that form upright clusters of stems to one metre in height. The flowers are 2-3cm across, carried in terminal panicles and are either white or a wide range of pink or purple shades. Leaves simple, in opposite pairs.
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Common Jacob's-ladder Polemonium caeruleum
Native in Europe, including a few places in northern Britain, but occurs only as a rare garden escape in East Anglia. Flowers June to July. Herbaceous perennials that form tight clumps to about 60cm in height. The flowers are 1-2cm across, carried in branched spikes and are normally bright blue or occasionally white. Leaves compound, alternate on the stem.
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Blue Thimbleflower Gilia capitata
Introduced as a garden annual from North America and recorded in the past from Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. Flowers July to September. Small annuals with bright blue flowers carried in tight heads of up to 100 flowers, but plants found as escapes from cultivation are likely to be smaller with fewer flowers - sometimes even solitary ones.
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Bird's-eye Gilia Gilia tricolor
Introduced as a garden annual from North America and recorded in the past from Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. Flowers July to September. Small annuals with white flowers washed with pale purple, darker purple in the throat and yellow at the base.
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