Polygala polygama

Get help with this component

Distribution Map: Based on vouchered plant specimens only. View county names by placing the mouse cursor over a particular county.

Species Distribution Map
Family:POLYGALACEAE
Species:Polygala polygama Walter
Common Name:Racemed Milkwort; Southern Bitter Milkwort
Habitat:**
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Herb
Duration:Perennial
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:POPO
Plant Notes:Racemed Milkwort is a native herbaceous perennial in the Milkwort family (Polygalaceae). It occurs throughout most of Alabama, but is most common in the eastern half of the state. Racemed Milkwort occurs in open woodlands, in sandhills, and on roadsides. It is a perennial with a tap root. Several erect stems up to 1 foot in height are produced from each root crown. The stems are green in color, angled, unbranched, and glabrous. Leaves are alternate, sessile, oblong to lanceolate or elliptic in outline, entire, and glabrous. Each leaf has a single prominent vein. Flowers are produced in terminal racemes. Individual flowers consist of 3 petals and 5 sepals. They are rose, pink, or purple in color. Two of the sepals are large, purple in color, and petal like. They form “wings”. The three petals form a fringed tubular structure around the stamens. These flowers are cross pollinated by small bees. Cleistogamous flowers are produced underground at the base of the plant. The cleistogamous flowers are white and bud shaped. They never open and are self-pollinated. The fruit is a capsule with two black, pubescent seed.--A. Diamond
Taxonomic Notes:**
Status:Native, FACU (NWI)
References:**
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilyPOLYGALACEAE - Milkwort family
Genus Polygala
Species Polygala polygama Walter - Racemed Milkwort; Southern Bitter Milkwort

Citation

Citation Polygala polygama Walter, Fl. Carol. 179. 1788.
Basionym: **
Type: USA: SOUTH CAROLINA: Richland Co.: Columbia, 19 May 1934, Palmer 42407 (neotype: GH). Neotypified by D. B. Ward, J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 2: 482. 2008.

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Anthallogea polygama Anthallogea polygama (Walter) Rafinesque ex Nieuwland, Amer. Midl. Naturalist 3: 180. 1914.Polygala polygama Walter 1788. 
Polygala aborigina Polygala aborigina Small, Torreya 26: 92. 1926. FLORIDA: Volusia Co.: Turtle Mound, 24 May 1926, Small et al. s.n. (holotype: NY; isotypes: NY 2 shts).
Polygala polygama var. abortiva Polygala polygama Walter, var. abortiva Chodat, Mém. Soc. Phys. Gèneve 31(2(2)): 280. 1893.  
Polygala polygama var. macrospora Polygala polygama Walter, var. macrospora Chodat, Mém. Soc. Phys. Gèneve 31(2(2)): 280. 1893.  
Polygala polygama var. obtusata Polygala polygama Walter, var. obtusata Chodat, Mém. Soc. Phys. Gèneve 31(2(2)): 280. 1893.  
Polygala polygama var. ramulosa Polygala polygama Walter, var. ramulosa Farwell, Amer. Midl. Naturalist 11: 63. 1928. MICHIGAN: St. Clair Co.: Algonac, 10 Aug 1927, Farwell 8068 (lectotype: BLH; isolectotype: MICH). Lectotypified by McVaugh et al., Cranbrook Inst. Sci. Bull. 34: 57. 1953.
Polygala rubella Polygala rubella Willdenow, Sp. Pl. 3: 875. 1803. PENNSYLVANIA
Polygala rugosa Polygala rugosa Rafinesque, New Fl. 4: 89. 1838 ("1836").  

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Autauga, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Henry, Houston, Lee, Macon, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Pike, Randolph, Russell, St. Clair, Sumter, Tallapoosa

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AUA, JSU, SAMF, TROY, UNA, USAM, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: 1897 - 2019

Barcode / Accession No.
County
Coll. Date
Collector &
Collection No.
Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used
Image
UNA00009872 Autauga 31 May 1980 Meigs, Russell A.
715		 UNA
Polygala polygama Walt.
TROY000037806 Autauga 21 Apr 2012 Keener, Brian R.
7162		 TROY
Polygala polygama Walter
UWAL0010619 Autauga 21 Apr 2012 Keener, Brian R.
7162		 UWAL
Polygala polygama Walt.
TROY000046772 Autauga 18 May 2017 Parker, Matthew R.
847		 TROY
Polygala polygama Walter
TROY000047864 Autauga 03 May 2018 Parker, Matthew R.
1658		 TROY
Polygala polygama Walter
UWAL0047300 Autauga 03 May 2018 Parker, Matthew R.
1658		 UWAL
Polygala polygama Walter
TROY000047868 Autauga 26 Jun 2018 Parker, Matthew R.
1732		 TROY
Polygala polygama Walter
UWAL0047324 Autauga 26 Jun 2018 Parker, Matthew R.
1732		 UWAL
Polygala polygama Walter
UNA00009870 Bibb 24 May 1979 Creitz, S.J.
38		 UNA
Polygala polygama Walt.
UNA00009870 Bibb 24 May 1979 Creitz, S.J.
38		 UNA
Polygala polygama Walt.
First Page Previous Page Next Page Last Page
Records per Page: