Polygala brevifolia - (image 1 of 5)
Taxonomy
Family: Polygalaceae
Habitat
Sandy swamps, pine savannas.
Associates
Distribution
Sandy swamps on the coastal plain from NJ to FL and MS. May have once occurred on Long Island, NY though the only known specimen does not include a date, collector, or locality other than NY.
Morphology
Erect annual 10-30 cm, sometimes simple but usually branched, the stems slender; leaves opposite near the top of the stem, in irregular whorls of 3-5 towards the base; racemes elevated on a distinct peduncle, the one terminating the main axis usually 1-3 cm; flowers pale rose-purple; wings ovate, 3-3.5 mm long and 1.5-2.5 mm wide, minutely apiculate or obtuse.
Notes
Flowers July to September
Wetland indicator: OBL
This species is similar to P. cruciata but with longer peduncles (2-8 cm vs. subsessile) and smaller wings (1.5-2.5 mm wide and not cuspidate vs. 3-4 mm wide and cuspidate). The two occur in similar habitats and can sometimes be found growing together in wet pine savannas along the coastal plain from NJ south.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
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Michael Hough © 2018 |