Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata)

Not native to the United States, but a summer staple in Southern gardens nonetheless. It doesn't mind our hot and humid summers, and is treated as an evergreen shrub in the warmest regions. I've going to see if I can keep this one alive through the winter here in Atlanta.

2 comments:

Susan Lindquist said...

This looks like what we call creeping phlox ... yes?

Kay Stephenson said...

Susan - the flowers look remarkably similar but in fact the two are from different plant families. Plumbago auriculata is from the Plumbaginaceae (leadwort) family and is native to South Africa. Creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) is of the family Polemoniaceae (or Phlox family) and is actually native to most of the eastern United States. One does have to wonder if the botanists don't have this one wrong though...