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 ambigua   FAMILY Polygalaceae   Go to FSUS key



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.

image of Polygala ambigua, Loose Milkwort, Alternate Milkwort, Whorled Milkwort

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_poam9_001_lvd

        

image of Polygala ambigua, Loose Milkwort, Alternate Milkwort, Whorled Milkwort

JK Marlow    jkm140617_059

June    Greenville County    SC

Racemes 3-6mm broad, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Polygala ambigua, Loose Milkwort, Alternate Milkwort, Whorled Milkwort

JK Marlow    jkm140617_059b

June    Greenville County    SC

Racemes 2-5cm long, becoming interrupted below thru persistence of fruits, per Weakley's Flora (2012).

image of Polygala ambigua, Loose Milkwort, Alternate Milkwort, Whorled Milkwort

JK Marlow    jkm140617_061

June    Greenville County    SC

Leaves whorled, at least at the principal lower nodes, per Weakley's Flora (2012).

image of Polygala ambigua, Loose Milkwort, Alternate Milkwort, Whorled Milkwort

JK Marlow    jkm140617_065

June    Greenville County    SC

image of Polygala ambigua, Loose Milkwort, Alternate Milkwort, Whorled Milkwort

JK Marlow    jkm140718_905

July    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Polygala ambigua, Loose Milkwort, Alternate Milkwort, Whorled Milkwort

JK Marlow    jkm210709_1959

July    Greenville County    SC

Blackwell Heritage Preserve

image of Polygala ambigua, Loose Milkwort, Alternate Milkwort, Whorled Milkwort

JK Marlow    jkm210813_2717

August    Greenville County    SC

Blackwell Heritage Preserve

image of Polygala ambigua, Loose Milkwort, Alternate Milkwort, Whorled Milkwort

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...

image of Polygala ambigua, Loose Milkwort, Alternate Milkwort, Whorled Milkwort

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 (4/14/23):
Polygala 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

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

3685

Forb
Annual

Habitat: Fields, woodlands, openings, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Uncommon (rare in Coastal Plain)

map
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!



 


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