Texas Trailing Phlox
Phlox nivalis subsp. texensis
Beauty on the "Trail"
Texas trailing phlox is an evergreen perennial herb or shrub. Plants often form clumps, but not mats. The stems tend to spread along the ground, with only the upper one to six inches of the stem. The flowers are pink to magenta in color.
Through the fire and the flames
Texas trailing phlox is well-adapted to fire. Although above-ground parts of the plant are destroyed by fire, underground parts are undamaged, and new growth appears within two weeks after a spring burn. If prescribed burning occurs in April, even plants that had flowered before the fire will re-sprout and flower again in May.
Distribution
Texas trailing phlox grows on sandy soils in fire-maintained open pine woodlands. Texas trailing phlox occurs in fewer than 20 populations in Hardin, Polk, and Tyler counties.