Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Senega officinalis +
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Weakley (2020) recognizes two varieties, but they occur in the same habitats and occupy essentially the same range. Vascular Plants of NC will defer until additional documentation and annotated specimens. Learn more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala senega
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10 (2021)
Polygala senega
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygala senega
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-004:
Polygala senega FAMILY Polygalaceae
COMMON NAME:
Senega Snakeroot
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_201
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_pose3_001_lvd
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_polygala_senega1
April Stanly County NC
Its lanceolate cauline leaves unusually broad for a small-flowered Polygala, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Laura Nichols lni_828630198847021
May Buncombe County NC
Pisgah National Forest
Leaves crowded, lance-shaped, sometimes minutely toothed; middle and upper leaves 1.5-3" long, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).
)
Laura Nichols lni_947108176573390
May Buncombe County NC
Pisgah National Forest
Several stems, to 20" tall, arise from a single base, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Laura Nichols lni_a54A0162
May Buncombe County NC
Pisgah National Forest
Flowers in a spike-like terminal raceme, white tinged w pink or green, < 1/4" long, often closed, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).
)
Laura Nichols lni_a54A0167
May Buncombe County NC
Pisgah National Forest
Fruit a rounded capsule, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).
)
Laura Nichols lni_a54A0170
May Buncombe County NC
Pisgah National Forest
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_polygala_senega3
June Stanly County NC
Long, narrow, uninterrupted racemes of white or greenish flowers, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Senega officinalis +
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala senega
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10
Polygala senega
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygala senega
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-004:
Polygala senega
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
2378
Forb
Perennial
Look for it in woodlands and openings, especially over calcareous or mafic rocks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Rare
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White or greenish
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:
Spring/Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p046
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p075
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p289
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p164
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p201
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p091
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