Wasatch Wildflowers: White Jacob’s Ladder (polemonium foliosissimum var. alpinum)

Photo: White Jacob’s Ladder (polemonium foliosissimum var. alpinum) – photo: Ashley Brown

WASATCH MOUNTAINS, Utah — White Jacob’s ladder, also known as alpine Jacob’s ladder, is a member of the phlox family and perennial herb native to Utah.

The clustered flowers grow between ½ – ¾ of an inch wide, and each flower has five round lobed petals: the long stamens and yellow anther pop against the bright white flowers. The species gets its name from the leaves, each resembling a long ladder.

Jacob’s ladder can grow up four feet tall. It thrives in aspen, mountain shrub, and mountain meadow communities and blooms throughout the summer.