Polygala is a large genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Polygalaceae. They are commonly known as milkworts or snakeroots. The genus is distributed widely throughout much of the world in temperate zones and the tropics. The genus name Polygala comes from the ancient Greek "much milk", as the plant was thought to increase milk yields in cattle.
Polygala vulgaris, known as the common milkwort, is a herbaceous perennial plant of the genus Polygala in the family Polygalaceae.
Polygala amarella, commonly known as dwarf milkwort or Kentish milkwort, is a plant of the family Polygalaceae. A European native, it grows on chalky grass land and limestone mountain pastures.
Polygaloides chamaebuxus, synonym Polygala chamaebuxus, the shrubby milkwort, is an ornamental plant in the family Polygalaceae. Its flowers are solitary or in pairs in the leaf axils. The inner two sepals, the wings, are upright and white to yellow, sometimes pinkish or purple. The keel petals are bright yellow, aging to brownish-red or purple. It is native to the Alps and the mountains of west-central Europe. It was known to be grown in cultivation in about 1658 and was illustrated by Carolus Clusius. It has been given the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Comesperma is a genus of shrubs, herbs and lianas in the family Polygalaceae. The genus is endemic to Australia. It was defined by the French botanist Jacques Labillardière in his 1806 work Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek words come ("hair") and sperma ("seed"), and relates to the seeds bearing tufts of hair. The genus is distributed over southern Australia, particularly in the southwest of Western Australia, where 19 species are found. 24 species have been described.
Rhinotropis californica, synonym Polygala californica, is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family known by the common name California milkwort. It is native to southwestern Oregon and northern and central California, where it grows in the coastal mountain ranges in local habitat types such as chaparral and forest. It is a perennial herb producing spreading stems, generally decumbent in form, up to about 35 centimeters in maximum length, lined with narrow oval leaves each a few centimeter long. The upper inflorescences produce several open flowers, and there may be some closed, cleistogamous flowers lower on the plant. The open flowers have pink or white winglike lateral sepals with hairy edges. The petals are similar in color, the central one tipped with a white or yellow beak. The fruit is a flattened green capsule up to a centimeter long containing hairy seeds.
Rhinotropis heterorhyncha, synonym Polygala heterorhyncha, is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family known by the common names beaked spiny polygala and notch-beaked milkwort. It is native to southern Nevada and it is known from a few occurrences just over the border in the Funeral Mountains of California above Death Valley. It is a resident of desert scrub habitat. This desert plant is a perennial herb or small shrub growing in small clumpy mats. The thin, branching, thorny-tipped stems are somewhat waxy in texture and sometimes slightly hairy. They are lined sparsely with small oval, dull-pointed leaves. The inflorescence bears a few flowers, each with a winglike pair of bright pink sepals and a yellow-tipped central petal. The fruit is a vein-streaked capsule.
Lespedeza leptostachya is a rare species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names prairie lespedeza and prairie bush-clover. It occurs in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. The flowers are creamy-white to purplish and arranged into a narrow terminal spikes.
Senega lewtonii is a rare species of flowering plant in the milkwort family known by the common name Lewton's polygala, or Lewton's milkwort. It is endemic to Florida in the United States, where it is limited to the central ridge of the peninsula. There are about 49 occurrences of the plant remaining. Most occurrences contain very few plants. The species is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat. This is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Senega sanguinea, commonly known as purple milkwort, field milkwort, or blood milkwort is an annual species of plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae). It is native to central and eastern North America.
Polygala myrtifolia, the myrtle-leaf milkwort, is an evergreen 2–4 m tall South African shrub or small tree found along the southern and south-eastern coasts, from near Clanwilliam in the Western Cape to KwaZulu-Natal. It is a fast-growing pioneer plant, a typical fynbos component, and may be found on dunes, rocky places, along forest margins, beside streams, and in open grassland. It belongs to the milkwort family of Polygalaceae.
Hebecarpa rectipilis, synonym Polygala rectipilis, common name New Mexico milkwort, is a plant native to one county in New Mexico and to northeast Mexico. The type specimen was collected near the Town of Hillsboro in Sierra County, at an elevation of 1065 m.
Senega curtissii, commonly known as Curtiss' milkwort or Appalachian milkwort, is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family. It is native to the Southeastern United States, where it is found primarily in the southern Appalachian Mountains and the Piedmont. Its natural habitat is open, sandy meadows, and woodlands.
Senega lutea, commonly known as orange- or yellow milkwort, is a plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae) native to pine-barren depressions and swamps in coastal areas of the southern and eastern the United States. It was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus.
Senega alba, commonly called white milkwort, is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae).
Cyanothamnus polygalifolius, commonly known as dwarf boronia, milkwort-leaved boronia or milkwort boronia, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a low-lying shrub with simple leaves and white or pink flowers arranged singly or in groups of up to three in leaf axils.
Polygala japonica is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae). It is native to Northeast, East and Southeastern Asia, as well as eastern Australia. It is a wiry and decumbent dwarf shrub with a height between 10 and 25 centimetres. Its stems have tiny curled hairs. Its leaves are 5 to 20 millimetres long and 3 to 10 millimetres wide. Its flowers are purple to mauve and 5 to 6 millimetres long. It flowers between October and December.
Polygala linariifolia is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae). It extends worldwide, including in the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia, however due to obscure taxonomic classifications and similarities and cross-overs between other Polygala species, it is difficult to confirm the exact identity of P. linariifolia and its distribution across the world including Australia.
Senega mariana, the Maryland milkwort, is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae). It is endemic to the southern and eastern United States. It is an annual with a height between 4 and 16 inches and it flowers between June and October.
Senega paniculata is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae). It is native to grasslands with altitudes between 350 and 1,700 metres. It is native to Central and South America and has been introduced to East Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. It is an annual herb which has a height between 15 and 50 centimetres It is used as a medicine against snake bites and blenorrhagias. The flowers of the plant have been described as pink or white.
