Wild Sweet William (Phlox maculata)
Image ID: bf008
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Native
Family:
Polemoniaceae (Phlox)
Height: 1.5 to 3 ft.
Blooms: May to
September
Leaf Type:
smooth
Bloom Size: 0.7 in. (typical)
Flower Description:
Elongate clusters,
Regular blooms, 5 parts
Location: Butler-Freeport Trail
Date: 7/1/2004
Notes:
Stem is spotted. Leaves stalkless.
More photos of this flower
Wild Sweet William may be
easily confused with:
- Garden Phlox
Wild Sweet William has a purple-spotted stem and a more cylindrical flower cluster.
- Wild Blue Phlox
Wild blue phlox is typically a delicate blue or lavender, while the sweet William is a brighter pink. Sweet William also had a denser flower head, blooms later in the season, and has smaller individual flowers.
- Wild Pink
Petals of wild pink are notched and bent back.
We started out as wildflowers from the bicycle trails of western Pennsylvania, but we've
grown!
Meyer, Joseph E. (1918). The Herbalist and Herb Doctor. Hammond, Ind.: Indiana Herb Gardens. 400 pp.
