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Spiny Phlox

Spiny Phlox – Phlox hoodii Richards (Moss Phlox)

 

Spiny Phlox can be found in open prairies and eroded hillsides.

Spiny Phlox can be found in open prairies and eroded hillsides.

Spiny Phlox

Phlox hoodii Richards Galileo Educational Network

Phlox hoodii Richards
Galileo Educational Network

Spiny Phlox grows close to the earth on the open prairie and on dry eroded hillsides. It does not grow more than 2.5 cm tall. If you crouch down, you will see that the flowers are pale violet or white, with five lobes. The leaves are 6-10 cm and are gray green and awl shaped. The flowers bloom in May.

A tea of the plant can be used as a mild laxative when you are constipated. Our elders made a tea for chest pains.

It seems odd, but the white and violet flowers can be used to make a yellow dye for fabric.

Phlox de Hood

Phlox hoodii Richards USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L.& Brown,A.

Phlox hoodii Richards
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L.& Brown,A.

Le phlox de Hood pousse au ras du sol, dans la prairie ouverte et sur les collines sèches et érodées. Il mesure 2,5 centimètres tout au plus. Quand nous regardons cette plante de près, nous constatons que ses fleurs sont blanches ou violet clair, et qu’elles ont cinq lobes. Ses feuilles mesurent de 6 à 10 centimètres. Elles sont gris-vert, en forme d’alène. Cette plante fleurit en mai.

Le thé fait à partir de cette plante peut servir de laxatif doux pour les personnes constipées. Nos aînés buvaient aussi de ce thé pour guérir leurs douleurs thoraciques.

Étrangement, les fleurs de couleur blanche et violette donnent une teinture à tissu jaune.

  • Britton, N.L.& Brown,A. (1913). Illustrated flora of the northern states and Canada. Vol. 2: 156. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
  • Retrieved Feburary 11, 2005
  • http://plants.usda.gov
  • Hellson, John C. (1974). Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada.
  • Kerik, Joan. (1979). Living With The Land: Use of Plants by the Native People Of Alberta. Edmonton, Alberta: Provincial Museum of Alberta.
  • Moerman, Daniel E. (1998). Native American Ethnobotany. Portland: Timber Press.
  • Vance, F.R., Jowsley, J.R. & Mclean, J.S. (1984). Wildflowers Across The Prairies. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Western Producer Prairie Books.

 

This project was created with the professional development leadership and resources of the Galileo Educational Network