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Polygala californica

California milkwort, milkwort

small-flower milkwort

Habit Herbs, sometimes suffrutescent, multi-stemmed, often forming a ground cover, 0.5–3.5 dm. Subshrubs, multi-stemmed, broomlike, 1.5–4(–5) dm.
Stems

laxly erect, decumbent, or prostrate, pubescent to subglabrous, hairs incurved.

usually erect to decumbent or procumbent, usually sparsely pubescent, rarely glabrate, hairs incurved.

Leaves

sessile or subsessile;

blade ovate, elliptic, or obovate, 7–50(–60) × 3–20(–26) mm, base usually rounded to acute, sometimes cuneate, apex rounded to acute, surfaces pubescent, hairs incurved.

larger ones usually early deciduous;

sessile or petiolate, petiole to 1 mm;

blade linear, lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, obovate, or scalelike, 1–4(–15) × 0.5–1(–3.7) mm, base cuneate, apex acute, surfaces glabrous or sparsely pubescent, hairs incurved.

Racemes

terminal or leaf-opposed, 1–4(–5) × 1.8–3 cm;

rachis not thorn-tipped;

peduncle 0–1 cm;

bracts early deciduous, linear to lanceolate.

terminal, often also appearing axillary (from branches proximal to racemes of major branches with vegetative portions highly reduced), 2–10(–15) ×0.8–1.5 cm;

rachis not thorn-tipped;

peduncle 0–2 cm;

bracts persistent, ovate to lanceolate.

Pedicels

(2.5–)3.5–8.5 mm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous.

(1.3–)1.6–3.6 mm, usually pubescent, rarely subglabrous.

Flowers

usually pink, rarely white, keel distally yellow (fading white), (2.5–)9–14.5 mm, cleistogamous and semi-cleistogamous flowers mostly 2.5–5 mm, intergrading with chasmogamous flowers;

sepals deciduous, elliptic, 4–6.5 mm, pubescent or glabrous;

wings obovate, (7.5–)8–12 × 2.5–6 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent;

keel (7–)8–11 mm, sac glabrous (sometimes proximally ciliate), beak oblong, (1.2–)1.6–3 × 0.7–1 mm (mostly absent in cleistogamous flowers), usually notched or contorted abaxially, rarely subentire, pubescent.

usually white or cream, often with purplish center stripe, rarely pink, 3–5 mm;

upper sepal persistent, others deciduous, ovate to elliptic or obovate, 1.4–3(–3.4) mm, pubescent;

wings obovate to elliptic, (2.5–)3–4.6 × (1.2–)1.5–3 mm, usually glabrous, rarely sparsely pubescent;

keel (2.2–)2.5–4 mm, sac incurved-puberulent in distal 1/2, beak bluntly rounded to oblong, (0.3–)0.4–1.1 × 0.2–0.5(–0.7) mm, pubescent.

Capsules

ellipsoid to ovoid, 7.3–10.5 × 4.5–7 mm, in cleistogamous and semi-cleistogamous flowers 4.5–8 mm, base obtuse, rounded, or subtruncate, margins with narrow, entire or slightly erose wing, glabrous, margins sometimes ciliolate.

ovoid to broadly ellipsoid, 2.5–4(–4.5) × (2.1–)2.3–3.2(–3.4) mm, base rounded or subtruncate, margins with very narrow and even wing, usually pubescent, sometimes subglabrous proximally.

Seeds

3.5–6 mm, densely pubescent;

aril 1.7–4 mm, less than 1/2 length of seed.

2.3–3(–3.4) mm, usually evenly pubescent;

aril (0.8–)1–1.6 mm, lobes to 1/2 length of seed.

Cleistogamous

or semi-cleistogamous flowers often present terminally, on much reduced scale-leaved lateral branches from proximal (or distal) leaf axils, or terminally on leafy branches that are often leaf-opposed.

2n

= 18.

= 18.

Rhinotropis californica

Rhinotropis nudata

Phenology Flowering spring–summer. Flowering spring–late fall.
Habitat Rocky or clay soils, deep duff, rich soils, serpentine soils, slopes or drainages, full sun to deep shade, open habitat, chaparral, mixed evergreen forests, oak woodlands, coniferous forests. Mostly on limestone, also on gypsum, sandstone, or tuff, rocky slopes in desert scrub, chaparral, or mixed woodlands (pinyon, juniper, or oak).
Elevation 10–1400 m. [30–4600 ft.] 1200–1700 m. [3900–5600 ft.]
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Rhinotropis californica occurs in western California and Oregon.

Cleistogamous and semi-cleistogamous flowers can appear earlier than chasmogamous flowers. Their flowers, fruits, and seeds are similar to those of chasmogamous flowers, but typically are smaller and without the keel beak.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Rhinotropis nudata occurs in Brewster and Presidio counties.

The name Polygala minutifolia Rose was misapplied to this taxon by D. S. Correll and M. C. Johnston (1970).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Polygalaceae > Rhinotropis Polygalaceae > Rhinotropis
Sibling taxa
R. acanthoclada, R. californica, R. cornuta, R. heterorhyncha, R. intermontana, R. lindheimeri, R. maravillasensis, R. nitida, R. nudata, R. rimulicola, R. rusbyi, R. subspinosa
R. acanthoclada, R. californica, R. cornuta, R. heterorhyncha, R. intermontana, R. lindheimeri, R. maravillasensis, R. nitida, R. rimulicola, R. rusbyi, R. subspinosa
Synonyms Polygalacalifornica nuttall Polygalanudata brandegee
Name authority (Nuttall) J. R. Abbott: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 5: 134. (2011) (Brandegee) J. R. Abbott: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 5: 135. (2011)
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