Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Polygaloides paucifolia
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more: Polygala paucifolia, Paw-paw, and Pinxter Azalea (periclymenoides) on Pinnacle Mountain in Pickens County, SC by Jim Fowler.
Read about Asemeia, Polygaloides, and Polygala from Alan Weakley and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Learn more about Gaywings from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala paucifolia
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10 (2021)
Polygaloides paucifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygaloides paucifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polygala paucifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-001:
Polygala paucifolia FAMILY Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Triclisperma paucifolia
COMMON NAME:
Gaywings, Fringed Polygala, Flowering Wintergreen, Bird-on-the-wing
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_popa5_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0504r_18
April Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
Scale-like leaves below, alternate oval leaves near stem's summit, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm0504s_33
April Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
A low plant bearing 1-4 flowers, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm0504t_14
April Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
)
Keith Bradley kab_p_paucifolia_5295
April Caldwell County NC
Pisgah National Forest
Corolla tube consists of 3 united petals; the "wings" are a pair of sepals, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Tim Spira tpsppaucifolia3
April
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk1112_a
May
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Polygaloides paucifolia
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala paucifolia
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10
Polygaloides paucifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygaloides paucifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polygala paucifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-001:
Polygala paucifolia
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Triclisperma paucifolia
1112
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Moist to dry forests, southwards mostly at moderate to high elevations, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon in NC Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Pink
(rarely white)
Bilaterally symmetrical
5 sepals (three small, two larger petaloid "wings")
3 petals united into a tube
6 stamens united to corolla tube in 2 rows
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p036
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p141
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p169
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p040
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p318
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p045
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p135
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p289
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p163
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p200
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p427
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p090
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