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):
Polygala polygama   FAMILY Polygalaceae   Go to FSUS key


SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala polygama   FAMILY Polygalaceae

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


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

image of Polygala polygama, Racemed Milkwort, Bitter Milkwort

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_popo_001_lvd

        

image of Polygala polygama, Racemed Milkwort, Bitter Milkwort

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).

image of Polygala polygama, Racemed Milkwort, Bitter Milkwort

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).

image of Polygala polygama, Racemed Milkwort, Bitter Milkwort

JK Marlow    jkm200525_5238

May    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

image of Polygala polygama, Racemed Milkwort, Bitter Milkwort

JK Marlow    jkm200525_5280

May    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

image of Polygala polygama, Racemed Milkwort, Bitter Milkwort

JK Marlow    s070520_a

May    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

image of Polygala polygama, Racemed Milkwort, Bitter Milkwort

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).

image of Polygala polygama, Racemed Milkwort, Bitter Milkwort

JK Marlow    jkm160603_004

June    Jackson County    NC

Foothills Trail

image of Polygala polygama, Racemed Milkwort, Bitter Milkwort

JK Marlow    jkm160603_005

June    Jackson County    NC

Foothills Trail

image of Polygala polygama, Racemed Milkwort, Bitter Milkwort

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 (4/24/22):
Polygala polygama   FAMILY Polygalaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala polygama   FAMILY Polygalaceae

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

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1113

Forb
Biennial/Weak perennial

Habitat: Longleaf pine sandhills, woodlands, woodland borders, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common in GA & SC Coastal Plain (uncommon to 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
Pinkish
Bisexual
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

Flowers in a loose, slender raceme

FRUIT:
Summer
Capsule

 

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



 


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