This largely midwestern taxon has corollas with unnotched petals and generally deeper purplish color. It is generally distinct from var. divaricata, which is centered in Appalachian regions, and their ranges have little overlap in Ky. or elsewhere (Wherry 1955). But a coll. from HEND (EKY) does appears intermediate. [Records from ROCK (EKY) have been based on misidentified triflora.] Occasional hybridization with pilosa or other related species in eastern North America might be involved in variation within the divaricata complex (Wherry 1955, Levin 1966); 2n = 14 in most of these species. A coll. from near Backusburg Hill in CALL (EKY) suggests hybridization with amoena or pilosa. Initial analysis of DNA sequences in diverse Phlox taxa failed to clarify some relationships, probably because reticulate evolution has played a significant role in the genus (Ferguson & Jansen 2002). In a more recent broad regional analysis of DNA, Garner et al. (2022) found some evidence of intermixing between vars. laphamii and divaricata, but none with other taxa.