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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Yreka Fish and Wildlife Office
1829 S. Oregon Street
Yreka, California 96097
Phone: 530-842-5763
Fax: 530-842-4517
Email: yreka@fws.gov

The Yreka phlox (Phlox hirsuta) is known from only four locations in and near Yreka, Siskiyou County, California. This species grows on serpentine soils at elevations between 2,800 and 4,400 feet, in association with Jeffrey pine, incense cedar, and western juniper.
Photo: USFWS/C. Oakley
A perennial in the phlox family, plants grow from two to almost six inches tall and produce bright rose-pink to white flowers from April to June. Yreka phlox can be distinguished from other phlox species that grow in Siskiyou County by the presence of long, stiff hairs that cover the plant and the rounded as opposed to notched petal tips. In addition, the three stigmas (the uppermost part of the pistil that receives the pollen) are shorter than the style (the stalk-like part of the pistil or seed-producing organ of a plant) to which they are attached.  In 1899, Elias Nelson described Yreka phlox based on an 1876 collection made near Yreka by Edward L. Greene.   E.L. Green was an Episcopal Priest at Saint Lawrence's, now Saint Mark's, Episcopal Church in Yreka. In addition to being a priest, he was a keen botanist who eventually became the University of California's first botanist.
Photo: USFWS/C. Oakley	This plant is protected as an endangered species by both the Federal and State law. Alteration of its habitat by urban development and vulnerability to extinction from random events (e.g. disease), as a result of the small number of individuals and populations, are the major threats to this species' survival.
Photo: USFWS/C. Oakley	Photo: USFWS/C. Oakley