NEARLY ALL 20 genera of the phlox family Polemoniaceae are native to the Americas with flower colour splitting neatly along a north-south axis according to pollinator preference. Red colours are found on the tropical members, such as Cantua buxifolia,to attract hummingbirds; those at temperate latitudes, like Phlox paniculata, have purple flowers pollinated by butterflies. In the far north blue colours are produced to attract bees (bees cannot see red) as is the case in Polemonium whose members mostly have blue flowers. The Phlox family is united by having parts in fives with calyx and corolla tubular. The ovary is comprised of three carpels and is surrounded by a nectar-producing disc at the base of the corolla.
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