Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Polygala lutea
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Orange Milkwort from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala lutea
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-014:
Polygala lutea FAMILY Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pilostaxis lutea
COMMON NAME:
Orange Milkwort, Red-hot-poker, Candyroot
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_polu_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm090516_007
May Berkeley County SC
Seewee Visitor & Environmental Education Center
Small orange-yellow flowers in a dense head, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
)
JK Marlow jkm090516_013
May Berkeley County SC
Seewee Visitor & Environmental Education Center
)
JK Marlow jkm090516_019
May Berkeley County SC
Seewee Visitor & Environmental Education Center
)
Pat Bright jeb_greenswamp062808_07
June Brunswick County NC
Green Swamp
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_polygala_lutea_19
July
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_polygala_lutea_3_s
July
Stems 6-15" tall with fleshy leaves typically widest near their tips, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_polygala_lutea_4
July
)
JK Marlow jkm091017_131
October Sumter County SC
Manchester State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm151121_035
November Mecklenburg County NC
UNCC McMillan Greenhouse
)
JK Marlow jkm151121_042
November Mecklenburg County NC
UNCC McMillan Greenhouse
)
Tim Spira tpsplutea
Month Unknown
Compact 0.5"-1.5" racemes terminate stems and branches, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Polygala lutea
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala lutea
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-014:
Polygala lutea
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pilostaxis lutea
1952
Forb
Biennial/Short-lived perennial
Habitat: Wet pine savannas, ditches, bogs, other wet areas, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain (rare elsewhere)
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
Basal rosette & alternate (reduced upward)
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Orange
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:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p218
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p260
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p048
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p443
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p178
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p044
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p136
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p287
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p199