Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Senega polygama
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Racemed Milkwort from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala polygama
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10 (2021)
Polygala polygama
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygala polygama
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polygala polygama
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-002:
Polygala polygama FAMILY Polygalaceae
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Polygala aboriginum
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Polygala polygama
COMMON NAME:
Racemed Milkwort, Bitter Milkwort, Purple Milkwort
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_popo_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm250429_0077
April Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Leaves numerous, generally ascending, narrowly oblanceolate, rounded at the tip, & ~ 1.5" long, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
JK Marlow jkm180505_1845
May Pike County GA
Camp Thunder VPA
"Wings" [2 sepals] 4-6mm long and tapered to claws; corolla slightly shorter, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm180505_1846
May Pike County GA
Camp Thunder VPA
Leaves linear-oblong to oblong-spatulate, 1.5-4cm long, revolute, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm200525_5238
May Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm200525_5280
May Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow s070520_a
May Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
Dan Whitten sdw_polygala2
May Pickens County SC
Roadside
Common to all milkworts are a 3-petalled corolla tube & 2 "wings" (sepals), per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm160603_004
June Jackson County NC
Foothills Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm160603_005
June Jackson County NC
Foothills Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm160605_891
June Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Leaves linear-oblong to oblong-spatulate, 1.5-4cm long, revolute, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Senega polygama
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala polygama
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10
Polygala polygama
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygala polygama
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polygala polygama
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-002:
Polygala polygama
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Polygala aboriginum
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Polygala polygama
1113
Forb
Biennial/Weak perennial
Habitat: Longleaf pine sandhills, woodlands, woodland borders, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in GA, common in SC Coastal Plain (uncommon to rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Pinkish
Bilaterally symmetrical
5 sepals (three small, two larger petaloid "wings")
3 petals united into a tube
8 stamens united to corolla tube in 2 rows
Bisexual
Flowers in a loose, slender raceme
FRUIT:
Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p069
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p046
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p317
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p288
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p091
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p333
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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