Phlox hirsuta

Yreka phlox (Phlox hirsuta, also known as hairy

phlox[1] ) is a species of phlox. It is a small owering plant
that grows in the serpentine soils of Siskiyou County, California[2][3] and is the ocial city ower of Yreka, California, after which it is named.[4][5]

threaten those locations as well as by other factors stemming from the increased urbanization of the Yreka area,
such as o-road vehicle use and the encroachment of nonnative species.[3] In 1975, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution included phlox hirsuta on a list of endangered plants.[5] It was listed as an endangered species by
the state of California in 1986,[2] and by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service in 2000.[3] A recovery plan was drafted
1 Description
by the Fish and Wildlife Service in 2006, and was dedicated to the memory of Larry G. Bacon, the city attorney
Yreka phlox plants grow to a height of up to six inches,
of Yreka from 1970 to 2002, who had been a leader of
with thick hairy stems at the base (the specic epithet hirlocal eorts to protect the species.[3][5]
suta means hairy). In April through June they become
covered by small pink or purple owers.[2]

5 References
2

Related species

[1] CalFlora database entry for Phlox hirsuta.

2009-09-14.

Yreka phlox often grows near another more common

species of phlox, Phlox speciosa, which it resembles, but
the latter species has deep notches in its ower petals
that are not present in Yreka phlox.[4] Additionally, unlike Yreka phlox, Phlox speciosa is capable of growing on non-serpentine soils.[3] Some biologists have classied Yreka phlox as a variant of Phlox stansburyi,[6]
but its status as a separate species is now recognized by
most biologists[3] as well as by the CalFlora[1] and USDA
PLANTS databases.[7]

[2] Yreka Phlox, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, retrieved 2009-09-14.

[3] Recovery Plan for Phlox hirsuta (Yreka Phlox) (PDF),
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, July 27, 2006, retrieved
2009-09-14.
[4] Smith, David (September 11, 2009), Council names
Yreka Phlox city ower, Siskiyou Daily News.
[5] Yreka Phlox, City of Yreka, retrieved 2010-10-27.
[6] Jepson, W. L. (1943), A ora of California, Vol. 3, Part
2, University of California Press; Munz, P. (1959), A California ora, University of California Press. As cited by
the recovery plan.

History

The rst recorded specimen of Yreka phlox was discovered by Edward Lee Greene in 1876.[2] Greene was the
priest at St. Laurences Episcopal Church in Yreka (since
renamed as St. Marks) from 1876 to 1877, when he
made the discovery; he later became the rst botanist at
the University of California, Berkeley.[3] The discovery
was recorded in 1899 by Elias Nelson, who described its
location as rocky hilltops near Yreka, Siskiyou County,
California.[3][8]

[7] PLANTS prole for Phlox hirsuta. Retrieved 2009-09-14.

[8] Nelson, E. (1899), Revision of the Western North American Phloxes, Contr. Dept. Bot. and Rocky Mtn. Herb.,
27: 135. As cited in the recovery plan.

In 2009, Yreka phlox was named as the ocial city ower

of Yreka.[4][5]

Retrieved

Status

Because Yreka phlox is only known to grow in a few locations near Yreka, it is endangered by land use plans that
1

6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1

Text

Phlox hirsuta Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlox_hirsuta?oldid=720704286 Contributors: Circeus, Curtis Clark, IceCreamAntisocial, Droll, Ruigeroeland, Jllm06, David Eppstein, Look2See1, Sminthopsis84, Nightphoenix90 and Anonymous: 1

6.2

Images

File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: PD Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

6.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0