What does phlox mean?
Phlox is a common name for plants in the genus Phlox, especially the showy garden varieties that produce dense clusters of fragrant flowers. The blooms may be pink, purple, white, red, or combinations of these colors, and the plants are generally grown as perennials in borders, beds, and cottage gardens. Garden phlox can grow to several feet tall, whereas creeping phlox forms a low mat suited to ground cover and rock gardens. The word refers to the plant as well as, more informally, to its individual blossoms. Phlox is especially associated with traditional cottage gardens, where its strong colors and sweet scent provide a conspicuous summer display. It should not be confused with flux, which concerns flow or change rather than flowers. Both singular and unchanged plural usage occur, but phloxes is the usual plural when referring to several plants.
nounA member of a genus of perennial herbaceous plants, Phlox, with showy, often fragrant flowers in shades of pink, purple, white, and red. The common garden phlox is widely cultivated for its clusters of colorful blooms.
- A member of the genus Phlox, a group of perennial plants valued for their clustered, often fragrant flowers; the term is also used for individual flowers or flower clusters from these plants.
"Climbing phlox covered the old stone wall with a profusion of pink flowers."
"The garden's phlox had begun to bloom, filling the air with a sweet fragrance."
"A border of white phlox softened the edge of the lawn."
Phloxes is the standard plural for multiple plants or flowers, though phlox is also used unchanged in some horticultural contexts.
"Bright phloxes bordered the path throughout the summer."
The name phlox comes from a Greek word meaning “flame,” a fitting image for the vivid colors that have made these flowers garden favorites for generations.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does phlox come from?
The word comes through Latin from Greek phlox, meaning “flame.” The botanical name was applied because of the vivid, flame-like coloring of the flowers. Greek phlox also underlies terms such as phlogiston and phlogistic, which are associated with heat and theories of combustion.
How phlox is actually used
Usually treated as a countable noun. The plural phloxes is standard and is used for multiple plants or flower clusters, although phlox is also accepted as an unchanged plural in some varieties and horticultural contexts.
Easily confused with phlox
Phlox is a flowering plant, while flux means a continuous flow or, in physics, a change in the value of a quantity.