Polygala ramosa
Polygala balduinii
low pine-barren milkwort
Baldwin's milkwort
erect, glabrous.
erect, glabrous.
usually without basal rosette at anthesis; alternate;
sessile or subsessile;
basal blade obovate or spatulate to narrowly elliptic, cauline oblanceolate, spatulate-elliptic, or linear, (7–)15–40(–70) × 1.5–8 mm, base often cuneately narrowed and petiolelike proximally, acute to obtuse distally, apex usually rounded proximally, acute to obtuse distally, surfaces glabrous.
with basal rosette sometimes present at anthesis, sometimes withered or nearly so; alternate;
sessile or subsessile;
basal blade obovate, to 12 mm wide, cauline blade obovate, elliptic, or narrowly spatulate, sometimes becoming linear distally, 3–25 × 1–5 mm, base cuneate or acute, apex usually rounded proximally, acute to obtuse distally, surfaces glabrous.
in cymose panicles, each stem with to 110 racemose branches, 1.8 × 0.7–1.1 cm, ± flat-topped, 2.5–15 ×3–15 cm;
central ones nearly sessile or peduncle to 2 cm, lateral ones subsessile or peduncle to 2(–3) cm;
bracts usually persistent, lanceolate-ovate.
in cymose panicles, ± flat-topped, 1.5–12 × 2.5–6 cm; each stem with (3–)5–20(–40) racemose branches, 0.4–6 × 0.7–1.5 cm;
central one nearly sessile, lateral ones with peduncle to 2 cm;
bracts persistent, lanceolate-ovate.
narrowly winged, (1–)1.3–2.3 mm, glabrous.
winged, 0.6–1.2 mm, glabrous.
bright yellow, drying green or yellow-brown, 3–3.5 mm;
sepals decurrent on pedicel, ovate to lanceolate-ovate, 1–3 mm;
wings ovate, elliptic-obovate, obovate, or spatulate, 2.5–3.5 × 1–1.4 mm, apex acuminate to cuspidate, involute;
keel 2–2.5 mm, crest 2-parted, with (1 or)2 or 3 lobes on each side.
usually white or cream, sometimes greenish tinged, drying white to brownish green, corolla usually becoming pale yellowish apically, 3–6 mm;
sepals decurrent on pedicel, ovate, lanceolate, or linear-lanceolate, 1.6–2.5 mm;
wings narrowly ovate to slightly obovate or elliptic, 2.8–4.8 × 0.9–1.7 mm, apex narrowing into apical cusp, 0.6–0.8 mm;
keel 2–4 mm, crest 2-parted, with 3 2-fid (rarely entire) lobes on each side.
subglobose, 0.8–1 × 0.8–1 mm, margins not winged.
depressed-suborbicular, 0.6–1 × 0.8–1.2 mm, margins not winged.
0.5–0.7 mm, densely pubescent;
aril 0–0.2 mm.
0.5–1 mm, pubescent;
aril 0–0.4 mm, lobes absent, reduced to minute scales, or to 1/3–2/5 length of seed.
= 64, 68.
= 64, 68.
Polygala ramosa
Polygala balduinii
Polygala ramosa has been reported from Maryland (M. L. Brown and R. G. Brown 1984, as cited in the USDA Plants database); no vouchers are known.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Plants from southern Florida have been recognized as var. carteri, based on their less robust stature and greener, less conspicuous inflorescences (R. R. Smith and D. B. Ward 1976). More specifically, extremes of var. carteri have more or less elongated racemes to 6 cm, bracts usually less than 2 mm, flowers cream to greenish white, seeds more than 0.6 mm, and arils a minute scale or absent, whereas extremes of var. balduinii have dense racemes to 3 cm, bracts usually more than 2 mm, flowers white, seeds less than 0.6 mm, and arils usually 0.2 mm (infrequently smaller). Such apparently distinctive features all intergrade and are not sharply geographically delineable; noting this, Smith and Ward stated that the northern limit of the variety was arbitrary.
Polygalaramosa is closely related to P. balduinii, despite the obvious contrast between the yellow-flowered (green when dry), loosely branched inflorescences of P. ramosa and the white or near-white, more compact inflorescences of P. balduinii. Hybrids occur and have been called P. balduinii var. chlorogena Torrey & A. Gray.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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