OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Polygaloides paucifolia   FAMILY Polygalaceae   Go to FSUS key


SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala paucifolia   FAMILY Polygalaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-001:

Polygala paucifolia   FAMILY Polygalaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Triclisperma paucifolia

 

COMMON NAME:
Gaywings, Fringed Polygala, Flowering Wintergreen, Bird-on-the-wing


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Polygaloides paucifolia, Gaywings, Fringed Polygala, Flowering Wintergreen, Bird-on-the-wing

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_popa5_001_lvd

        

image of Polygaloides paucifolia, Gaywings, Fringed Polygala, Flowering Wintergreen, Bird-on-the-wing

JK Marlow    jkm0504r_18

April    Pickens County    SC

Table Rock State Park

Scale-like leaves below, alternate oval leaves near stem's summit, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).

image of Polygaloides paucifolia, Gaywings, Fringed Polygala, Flowering Wintergreen, Bird-on-the-wing

JK Marlow    jkm0504s_33

April    Pickens County    SC

Table Rock State Park

A low plant bearing 1-4 flowers, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).

image of Polygaloides paucifolia, Gaywings, Fringed Polygala, Flowering Wintergreen, Bird-on-the-wing

JK Marlow    jkm0504t_14

April    Pickens County    SC

Table Rock State Park

image of Polygaloides paucifolia, Gaywings, Fringed Polygala, Flowering Wintergreen, Bird-on-the-wing

Keith Bradley    kab_p_paucifolia_5295

April    Caldwell County    NC

Pisgah National Forest

Corolla tube consists of 3 united petals; the "wings" are a pair of sepals, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).

image of Polygaloides paucifolia, Gaywings, Fringed Polygala, Flowering Wintergreen, Bird-on-the-wing

Tim Spira    tpsppaucifolia3

April        

image of Polygaloides paucifolia, Gaywings, Fringed Polygala, Flowering Wintergreen, Bird-on-the-wing

Ben Geer Keys    bgk1112_a

May        

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Polygaloides paucifolia   FAMILY Polygalaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala paucifolia   FAMILY Polygalaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-001:
Polygala paucifolia   FAMILY Polygalaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Triclisperma paucifolia

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1112

Forb
Perennial

Habitat: Moist to dry forests, mostly at moderate to high elevations, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Uncommon in NC Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)

map
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Pink (rarely white)
Bisexual
Bilaterally symmetrical
5 sepals (three small, two larger petaloid "wings")
3 petals united into a tube
6 stamens united to corolla tube in 2 rows

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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