MISSOULA — Missoula’s hills are alive with wildflowers, especially the North Hills. That is where the Missoula phlox, a plant only found in Missoula County, thrives and where efforts are underway to study and protect the unique plant.
“This time of year is a really amazing time to be on the North Hills when just so much life is kind of coming forth,” said Peter Whitney, a program specialist with City of Missoula Parks and Recreation Conservation Lands Program. “Missoula phlox is just a really amazing marker of spring.”
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Missoula phlox, or Phlox missoulensis, is native to and found only in the Missoula Valley, popping up every spring with white, blue and pink flowers. To help protect it, Missoula Parks and Recreation institutes a temporary leash restriction for the Waterworks Ridge Trail in the spring and early summer. The trail goes right through important phlox habitat.
“There are many different species of phlox that you can find throughout Montana and throughout the whole world. However, this species in particular is just really unique because you can only find it here,” said Giovanna Bishop, curator of the Herbarium at the University of Montana.
The phlox and plants like it are known as “cushion plants.” They usually grow low to the ground in high elevation, alpine environments. But the Missoula phlox likes to hang out on windswept ridges, like those found on public land around Missoula
“One of the largest populations is here on Waterworks Hill right along the ridge,” said Whitney.
This proximity allows for a great view of the unique species. But, researchers say it also puts it as risk.
“Really the main threat, especially with it being so accessible on the trails around the preserves around here, is trampling,” said Meredith Zettlemoyer, an assistant professor of plant ecology at the University of Montana.
Especially this time of year, when the plant is using lots of energy to flower, the phlox is highly vulnerable to trampling, Whitney said. That's why pets are asked to be kept on-leash along the Waterworks ridge.
“That might be people hiking off trails, it might be dogs running off trails, it might just be anything, especially this time of year when the plant is flowering,” he said. “We just want to do everything we can to protect these special plants.”
In addition to the leash restriction, Missoula Parks and Recreation also partners with the University of Montana to learn more about the Missoula phlox.
Zettlemoyer and her lab started studying it last year. “The idea there is to get an estimate of population health over the long term and what environmental factors might cause health to increase or decrease over time,” she said.
They are also investigating the mechanisms behind phlox pollination and its different flower colors. There is also the Herbarium at the University of Montana. With 140,000 specimens, they have the largest collection of dried plants and fungi in Montana, including lots of Missoula phlox.
Watch related coverage: Rocky Mountain Gardens celebrates spring with inaugural Phlox Fest
“We have a bunch of Missoula phlox here, which is really cool. A lot of the specimens, sometimes being over 100 years old, a lot of them being also collected from Waterworks Hill just here in Missoula,” said Bishop, who curates the massive collection.
But to keep the tradition going, the plants need to keep growing.
“It can grow really large when it's kind of left alone and then the plants are a lot smaller in areas with kind of a lot of foot and pet traffic,” Zettlemoyer said.
On Waterworks, the least restriction lasts until most of the phlox have flowered. This year, Whitney said, it will probably last at least through June. He hopes people will respect the restriction and keep pets on-leash, or chose one of Missoula’s many other options for off-leash hikes. Loaner leashes are also provided at key trail junctions along the Waterworks Ridge Trail.
“Most people this time of year are coming here to see the beautiful native flowers that are in bloom, and so they want to give back and do what they can to protect them,” he said. “Missoula phlox is just a celebration of what's so unique about Missoula, what's so unique about all the natural resources that we have here and kind of a celebration of summer to come.”
