Polygala verticillata |
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polygale verticillé, whorled milkwort |
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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 |
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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 |
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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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 | |
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) |
Web links |
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