moss pink

American  

noun

1. a phlox, Phlox subulata, of the eastern U.S., having showy pink to purple flowers.

---

moss pink British  

noun

1. Also called: ground pink.  a North American plant, Phlox subulata, forming dense mosslike mats: cultivated for its pink, white, or lavender flowers: family Polemoniaceae

---

Etymology

Origin of moss pink

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

The moon will not turn pink or even look pink; instead, the moniker comes from a ground-covering plant, moss pink, that’s among the earliest bloomers in the spring.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2024

There are two kinds of pinks that ought to be set near the front rank because they don't grow very tall—the moss pink and the old-fashioned 'grass pink.'

From Ethel Morton's Enterprise by Smith, Mabell S. C. (Mabell Shippie Clarke)

Far beyond its natural range, as well as within it, the moss pink glows in gardens, cemeteries and parks, wherever there are rocks to conceal or sterile wastes to beautify.

From Wild Flowers An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors by Blanchan, Neltje

You said it of moss pink, and lily of the valley.

From A Red Wallflower by Warner, Susan

Candytuft, dwarf phlox, stonecrop, morning glory, saxifrage, bleeding heart, rock cress, myrtle, thrift, columbine, bell flower, and moss pink.

From The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. by Shaw, Ellen Eddy