Beautiful Jacob's Ladder

Polemonium pulcherrimum
Polemoniaceae/Phlox Family

Beautiful Jacob's Ladder grows in dry, rocky areas, fields and roadsides. The low growing (8-14") species has 10-15 rounded leaflets for leaves. The flowers are joined at the base and have 5 rounded violet-blue petals that are white at the base and have yellow centers.

The name Jacob's Ladder refers to the ladder like arrangement of the leaflets. The name also alludes to Jacob of religious legends, who dreamed of a ladder to heaven with angels ascending and descending.