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