OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Polygala senega +   FAMILY Polygalaceae   Go to FSUS key



INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala senega   FAMILY Polygalaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Polygala senega

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America

Polygala senega

INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Polygala senega

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-004:

Polygala senega   FAMILY Polygalaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Polygala senega

 

COMMON NAME:
Seneca Snakeroot


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Polygala senega +, Seneca Snakeroot

USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969    mpa_page_201

        

image of Polygala senega +, Seneca Snakeroot

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_pose3_001_lvd

        

image of Polygala senega +, Seneca Snakeroot

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).

image of Polygala senega +, Seneca Snakeroot

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).

image of Polygala senega +, Seneca Snakeroot

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).

image of Polygala senega +, Seneca Snakeroot

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).

image of Polygala senega +, Seneca Snakeroot

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).

image of Polygala senega +, Seneca Snakeroot

Laura Nichols    lni_a54A0170

May    Buncombe County    NC

Pisgah National Forest

image of Polygala senega +, Seneca Snakeroot

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 (4/14/23):
Polygala senega +   FAMILY Polygalaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala senega   FAMILY Polygalaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygala senega

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Polygala senega

INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polygala senega

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-004:
Polygala senega   FAMILY Polygalaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Polygala senega

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

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

map

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!



 


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