Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Senega cruciata
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Crossleaf Milkwort from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala cruciata var. cruciata
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10 (2021)
Polygala cruciata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygala cruciata
INCLUDED WITHIN Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Polygala cruciata
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-010:
Polygala cruciata FAMILY Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Polygala ramosior
INCLUDING Flora of the Southeastern US (Small, 1913)
Polygala cruciata var. ramosior
COMMON NAME:
Drumheads, Crossleaf Milkwort
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Keith Bradley kab_p_cruciata_09011
April Collier County FL
Big Cypress National Preserve
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_polygala_cruciata_2
August
Leaves sessile, 3-4 per node, increasing in size upwards, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_polygala_cruciata_sb
August
Common to all milkworts are a 3-petalled corolla tube & 2 "wings" (sepals), per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_polygala_cruciata_sc
August
The wings (sepals) in this Milkwort species are broadly triangular, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_polygala_cruciata
September
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Senega cruciata
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala cruciata var. cruciata
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10
Polygala cruciata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygala cruciata
INCLUDED WITHIN
Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Polygala cruciata
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-010:
Polygala cruciata
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Polygala ramosior
INCLUDING
Flora of the Southeastern US (Small, 1913)
Polygala cruciata var. ramosior
2119
Forb
Annual
Habitat: bogs, damp or wet soil in openings, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain (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
Whorls of 4
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Pinkish
Bilaterally symmetrical
5 sepals (three small, two larger petaloid "wings")
3 petals united into a tube
8 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!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p068
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p330
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p185
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p044
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p285
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p161
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p198
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p091
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p205
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