Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Senega ambigua
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
This species has often been treated as a variety of P. verticillata. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala ambigua
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10 (2021)
Polygala verticillata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygala ambigua
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polygala ambigua
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-009b:
Polygala verticillata var. ambigua FAMILY Polygalaceae
INCLUDING Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Polygala verticillata var. ambigua
INCLUDING Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Polygala verticillata var. dolichoptera
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Polygala ambigua
COMMON NAME:
Loose Milkwort, Alternate Milkwort, Whorled Milkwort
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_poam9_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm140617_059
June Greenville County SC
Racemes 3-6mm broad, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm140617_059b
June Greenville County SC
Racemes 2-5cm long, becoming interrupted below thru persistence of fruits, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
)
JK Marlow jkm140617_061
June Greenville County SC
Leaves whorled, at least at the principal lower nodes, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
)
JK Marlow jkm140617_065
June Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm140718_905
July Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm210709_1959
July Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm210813_2717
August Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm210813_2721
August Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
Lower stem leaves are usually whorled, but leaves on upper parts of stem & branches are alternate...
)
JK Marlow jkm210813-2720
August Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
...whereas in the very similar P. verticillata, nearly all of the stem leaves are in whorls, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Senega ambigua
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala ambigua
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10
Polygala verticillata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygala ambigua
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polygala ambigua
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-009b:
Polygala verticillata var. ambigua
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
INCLUDING
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Polygala verticillata var. ambigua
INCLUDING
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Polygala verticillata var. dolichoptera
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Polygala ambigua
3685
Forb
Annual
Habitat: Fields, woodlands, openings, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon (rare in Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Whorled, or whorled & alternate, or a few opposite
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
White/ Greenish/ 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!
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p082
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p289
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".