Contains 22 accepted taxa overall.
Characteristics
Classification
Citation
POLYGALA Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 701. 1753.
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TYPE: Polygala vulgaris Linnaeus Lectotypified by Britton & A. Brown, Ill. Fl. N. U.S., ed. 2. 2: 446. 1913.
Species
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Herbarium Specimens | Status | Photos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polygala appendiculata | SWAMP MILKWORT | Native FACW+ (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala balduini | BALDWIN'S MILKWORT | Native OBL (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala boykinii | BOYKIN'S MILKWORT | Native FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala brevifolia | LITTLELEAF MILKWORT | Native FACW (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala chapmanii | CHAPMAN'S MILKWORT | Native OBL (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala crenata | SCALLOPED MILKWORT | Native FACW (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala cruciata | DRUMHEADS | Native OBL (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala cymosa | TALL PINEBARREN MILKWORT | Native OBL (NWPL) OBL (DEP) | ||
| Polygala hookeri | HOOKER'S MILKWORT | Native FACW (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala incarnata | PROCESSION FLOWER | Native FAC (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala leptostachys | GEORGIA MILKWORT | Native | ||
| Polygala lewtonii | LEWTON'S MILKWORT; LEWTON'S POLYGALA | Native Rare-State Endangered-US | ||
| Polygala lutea | ORANGE MILKWORT | Native FACW (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala mariana | MARYLAND MILKWORT | Native FACW (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala nana | CANDYROOT | Native FACW (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala nuttallii | NUTTALL'S MILKWORT | Native FACW (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala polygama | RACEMED MILKWORT | Native FACU (NWPL) | ||
| Polygala ramosa | LOW PINEBARREN MILKWORT | Native OBL (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala rugelii | YELLOW MILKWORT | Native FACW (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala setacea | COASTALPLAIN MILKWORT | Native FACW (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala smallii | SMALL'S MILKWORT; TINY POLYGALA | Native Rare-State Endangered-US FACU (NWPL) FACW (DEP) | ||
| Polygala verticillata | WHORLED MILKWORT | Native UPL (NWPL) |
Identification Key
1. Predominant, conspicuous perianth colors orange, yellow, to green (conspicuous perianth parts being the lateral sepals and two upper petals and a keeled lower petal with a multi-lobed or brush-like crest)
2
1. Predominant, conspicuous perianth colors purple, pink, white, or greenish white (conspicuous perianth parts usually being the lateral sepals, except in P. incarnata, and two upper petals and a keeled lower petal with a multi-lobed or brush-like crest; petals sometimes yellow to greenish yellow)
7
2. Flowers in branched, compound cymes
3
2. Flowers in solitary racemes
4
3. Basal leaves 2-6 cm long, linear to linear-lanceolate, forming a persistent rosette during flowering; seeds glabrous
3. Basal leaves 2 cm long or less, elliptic to spatulate, often few to none remaining during flowering; seeds pubescent
4. Conspicuous lateral sepals (wings) long-acuminate
5
4. Conspicuous lateral sepals (wings) cuspidate or mucronate
6
5. Lateral sepals elliptic, involute at the apex; seed body (excluding the stipe) less than 1 mm long
5. Lateral sepals oblong-lanceolate, the tip flat and not involute; seed body (excluding the stipe) 1.1-1.2 mm long
6. Lateral sepals and petals orange, drying pale yellow; peduncle (from uppermost leaf to the base of the inflorescence) (0.5)1-4(5.5) cm long; racemes <1.8 cm wide
6. Lateral sepals and petals yellow, drying greenish yellow; peduncle (from uppermost leaf to the base of the inflorescence) (3.5)4-16 cm long; racemes >1.5 cm wide
7. Flowers in branched, compound cymes
8
7. Flowers in solitary racemes
9
8. Inflorescence of dense racemes; wings definitely white; seed <0.6 mm long; aril on seed usually 0.2 mm long, infrequently smaller
8. Inflorescence of more or less elongated racemes; wings cream to greenish-white; seed >0.6 mm long; aril on seed a minute scale or absent
9. Leaves whorled, at least those on the lower parts of the stem
10
9. Leaves all alternate
15
10. Bracts subtending flowers deciduous or inconspicuous; flowers sessile or the pedicel <1 mm long
11
10. Bracts subtending flowers persistent and conspicuous, remaining after flowers and fruits have abscissed; flowers distinctly pedicellate (the pedicel sometimes hidden by the crowded flowers), the pedicel >1 mm long
13
11. Longest internodes between leaves 4 cm long or longer; seeds glabrous or nearly so, fusiform
11. Longest internodes between leaves 3 cm long or less; seeds pubescent, ovoid to narrowly ovoid
12
12. Leaves on the lower parts of the stem obovate, elliptic, to oblanceolate; lateral sepals 2-3 mm long
12. Leaves on the lower parts of the stem linear-lanceolate; lateral sepals 1-1.5 mm long
13. Racemes sparsely flowered, the pedicels readily visible
13. Racemes densely flowered, the pedicels obscured by the crowded flowers
14
14. Racemes with a peduncle usually 2-8 cm long; lateral sepals ovate, 1.5-2.5 mm long, the apex obtuse or minutely apiculate
14. Racemes sessile or the peduncle rarely exceeding 1 cm in length; lateral sepals deltoid, 3-4 mm long, the apex abruptly narrowed to a cuspidate tip
15. Petals with the brush-like crest exserted from the sepals, the lateral sepals less than half as long as the petals
15. Petals not conspicuously exserted, subequal to or shorter than the lateral sepals
16
16. Racemes densely flowered, the middle and upper flowers crowded and overlapping
17
16. Racemes sparsely flowered, the flowers mostly well separated from one another
20
17. Leaves scale-like and inconspicuous, ca. 1 mm long or less
17. Leaves conspicuous, most >3 mm long
18
18. Bracts subtending the flowers deciduous; inflorescence broadly rounded at the apex, the growing tip only slightly exserted and nearly inconspicuous
18. Bracts subtending the flowers persistent after the flowers and fruits abscissed; inflorescence acute to tapered at the apex, the growing tip conspicuous
19
19. Plants single-stemmed or few-branched above mid-stem; raceme 6-10 mm wide
19. Plants much branched near mid-stem, rarely single-stemmed; raceme 5-6 mm wide
20. Plant without subterranean inflorescences; flower (excluding the pedicel) ca. 1.5 mm long
20. Plant with subterranean inflorescences of cleistogamous flowers; aerial flowers 3-5 mm long
21
21. Leaves of the mid-stem narrowly obovate; capsule margins crenately winged
21. Leaves of the mid-stem linear, elliptic, to narrowly oblanceolate; capsules margins entire
22
22. Stems often appearing densely leafy; capsule oblong, 2-3 times longer than wide; seeds cylindric, the upper part of the arils bony like the caruncle
22. Stems with leaves visibly separated from one another; capsule ovoid, less than 2 times longer than wide; seeds ovoid to cylindric, the aril membranaceous
Genus Synonyms
| Synonym | Full Citation | Basionym | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthallogea | Anthallogea Rafinesque, Actes Soc. Linn. Bordeaux 6: 264. 1834. | TYPE: Anthallogea polygama (Walter) Rafinesque ex Nieuwland (Polygala polygama Walter) | |
| Brachytropis | Brachytropis (de Candolle) Reichenbach, Consp. Regn. Veg. 120. 1828. | BASIONYM: Polygala Linnaeus, sect. Brachytropis de Candolle, Prodr. 1: 332. 1824. | TYPE: Brachytropis microphylla (Linnaeus) Willkomm (Polygala microphylla Linnaeus) |
| Chamaebuxus | Chamaebuxus (de Candolle) Spach, Hist. Nat. Vég. 7: 125. 1839. | BASIONYM: Polygala Linnaeus, sect. Chamaebuxus de Candolle, Prodr. 1: 331. 1824. | TYPE: Chamaebuxus alpestris Spach (Polygala chamaebuxus Linnaeus) = Polygaloides Haller 1768. |
| Corymbula | Corymbula Rafinesque, Actes Soc. Linn. Bordeaux 6: 264. 1834. | TYPE: Non designatus. | |
| Galypola | Galypola Nieuwland, Amer. Midl. Naturalist 3: 179. 1914. | TYPE: Galypola incarnata (Linnaeus) Nieuwland (Polygala incarnata Linnaeus) | |
| Heterosamara | Heterosamara Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 47. 1891. | TYPE: Heterosamara birmanica Kuntze | |
| Iridisperma | Iridisperma Rafinesque, Actes Soc. Linn. Bordeaux 6: 264. 1834. | TYPE: = Triclisperma Rafinesque 1814. | |
| Isolophus | Isolophus Spach, Hist. Nat. Vég. 7: 112. 1839. | TYPE: Isolophus saxatilis (Desfontaines) Spach (Polygala saxatilis Desfontaines) | |
| Microlophium | Microlophium (Spach) Fourreau, Ann. Soc. Linn. Lyon, ser. 2. 17: 195. 1869. | BASIONYM: Polygala Linnaeus, sect. Microlophium Spach, Hist. Nat. Vég. 7: 124. 1839. | TYPE: Microlophium exile (de Candolle) Fourreau (Polygala exilis de Candolle) |
| Phlebotaenia | Phlebotaenia Grisebach, Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, ser. 2. 8: 156. 1861. | TYPE: Phlebotaenia cuneata Grisebach | |
| Pilostaxis | Pilostaxis Rafinesque, New Fl. 4: 87, 89, 111. 1838. | TYPE: Polygala lutea Linnaeus = Pylostachya Rafinesque 1834. | |
| Polygaloides | Polygaloides Haller, Hist. Stirp. Helv. 1: 149. 1768. | TYPE: Polygala chamaebuxus Linnaeus | |
| Psychanthus | Psychanthus Rafinesque, Specchio Sci. 1: 116. 1814. | TYPE: Psychanthus myrtifolius (Linnaeus) Rafinesque (Polygala myrtifolia Linnaeus) | |
| Pylostachya | Pylostachya Rafinesque, Actes Soc. Linn. Bordeaux 6: 264. 1834. | TYPE: Polygala lutea Linnaeus | |
| Senega | Senega (de Candolle) Spach, Hist. Nat. Vég. 7: 128. 1839. | BASIONYM: Polygala Linnaeus, sect. Senega de Candolle, Prodr. 1: 330. 1824. | TYPE: Senega officinalis Spach (Polygala senega Linnaeus) = Senegaria Rafinesque 1834. |
| Senegaria | Senegaria Rafinesque, Actes Soc. Linn. Bordeaux 6: 264. 1834. | TYPE: Polygala senega Linnaeus | |
| Sexilia | Sexilia Rafinesque, New Fl. 4: 87, 89. 1838. | TYPE: Polygala verticillata Linnaeus | |
| Tertria | Tertria Schrank, Fl. Monac. 3: 249. 1816. | TYPE: Tertria chamaebuxus (Linnaeus) Schrank (Polygala chamaebuxus Linnaeus) = Polygaloides Haller 1768. | |
| Tricholophus | Tricholophus Spach, Hist. Nat. Vég. 7: 114. 1839. | TYPE: Tricholophus monspeliacus (Linnaeus) Spach (Polygala monspeliacus Linnaeus) | |
| Triclisperma | Triclisperma Rafinesque, Specchio Sci. 1: 117. 1814. | TYPE: Triclisperma grandiflorum Rafinesque, nom. illegit. (Polygala paucifolia Willdenow; Triclisperma paucifolium (Willdenow) Nieuwland) | |
| Zoroxus | Zoroxus Rafinesque, New Fl. 4: 88. 1838. | TYPE: Polygala chamaebuxus Linnaeus = Polygaloides Haller 1768. |