Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Polygala cymosa
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Tall Milkwort from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala cymosa
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10 (2021)
Polygala cymosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygala cymosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polygala cymosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-017:
Polygala cymosa FAMILY Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pilostaxis cymosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH -
Pylostachya cymosa
COMMON NAME:
Tall Pinebarren Milkwort
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_pocy_001_lvd
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_698376468712152
April FL
Apalachicola National Forest
Flowers tiny, with 2 "wings" (sepals) & 3 joined petals forming a tiny tube with fringed tip, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).
)
Keith Bradley kab_polygala_cymosa_76935
May Palm Beach County FL
Hungryland Wildlife and Environmental Area
Erect single-stemmed annual with leafy stem and branched inflorescence, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
Jerry Bright jeb_072608_045
July Charleston County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
Flowers in congested heads that terminate the branches of a showy cyme, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
Jerry Bright jeb_072608_046
July Charleston County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_polygala_cymosa_2
July
Mature plants typically 2-4' tall (vs. P. ramosa rarely over 18"), per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_polygala_cymosa_6
August
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Polygala cymosa
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala cymosa
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10
Polygala cymosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygala cymosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polygala cymosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-017:
Polygala cymosa
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pilostaxis cymosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
-
Pylostachya cymosa
2987
Forb
Biennial
Habitat: Pond-cypress savannas, Coastal Plain depression ponds, clay-based Carolina bays, other sites with seasonally flooded hydrology, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain of GA & SC, uncommon in NC
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal rosette (often absent or withered at flowering)
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Light yellow
Bilaterally symmetrical
5 sepals (three small, two larger petaloid "wings")
3 petals united into a tube
6 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!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p201
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p316
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p397
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p221
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p189
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p044
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p286
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