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polygale verticillé, whorled milkwort

Habit Herbs annual, single-stemmed, 0.5–3(–4) dm, usually branched distally; from slender taproot.
Stems

erect, sometimes slightly glaucous, glabrous.

Leaves

usually whorled proximally, sometimes whorled to inflorescence, opposite to alternate distally, rarely alternate throughout;

sessile or subsessile, petiole rarely to 1 mm;

blade sometimes linear-spatulate proximally, usually linear, linear-oblong, -elliptic, or -lanceolate distally, (5–)10–20(–30) × 0.5–5.5 mm, base cuneate to acute, apex acute to acuminate, surfaces glabrous.

Racemes

nearly spikelike, conic to cylindric-conic, 0.5–5 × 0.2–0.6 cm, sometimes interrupted proximally, with some proximal fruits persistent below gap;

peduncle to 9 cm (usually elongate);

bracts deciduous, subulate to lanceolate.

Pedicels

0.2–1(–2) mm, glabrous.

Flowers

white or with greenish or pinkish tinge, sepals sometimes purplish or whitish, 1–2.2(–2.6) mm;

sepals ovate or elliptic to lanceolate, 0.5–1.6 mm, ciliate;

wings suborbiculate, ovate, elliptic, or obovate, 1–2.6 × 0.8–2.5 mm, apex obtuse to bluntly rounded;

keel 1.2–1.8 mm, crest 2-parted, with 1 or 2 lobes on each side.

Capsules

subglobose or broadly ellipsoid to ovoid, 1.3–2.4 × 0.7–2.2 mm, margins not winged.

Seeds

1.2–2.2 mm, pubescent;

aril 0.5–1 mm, lobes 1/3–1/2 length of seed.

2n

= 34.

Polygala verticillata

Phenology Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat Meadows, prairies, open woodlands, sand dunes, old fields, open places (limestone glades, railroad rights-of-way, rock quarries).
Elevation 0–2100 m. (0–6900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WI; WV; WY; MB; NB; ON; QC; SK
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties of Polygala verticillata have been recognized; they co-occur and intergrade, suggesting that they are polymorphisms not worthy of taxonomic recognition.

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

Source FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Polygalaceae > Polygala
Sibling taxa
P. alba, P. appendiculata, P. balduinii, P. boykinii, P. brevifolia, P. chapmanii, P. crenata, P. cruciata, P. curtissii, P. cymosa, P. glochidata, P. hemipterocarpa, P. hookeri, P. incarnata, P. leptostachys, P. lewtonii, P. lutea, P. mariana, P. nana, P. nuttallii, P. polygama, P. ramosa, P. rugelii, P. sanguinea, P. scoparioides, P. senega, P. setacea, P. smallii, P. vulgaris, P. watsonii
Synonyms P. ambigua, P.pretzii pennell, P. verticillata var. ambigua, P. verticillata var. dolichoptera, P. verticillata var. isocycla, P. verticillata var. sphenostachya
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 706. (1753)
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