Polygala

Plant Characteristics

Origin:	✈	?

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	?"?" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water:	◍	?"?" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.

Scientific Names

Read about Polygala in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Polygala (Greek, much milk; from the old idea that some species increased the flow of milk). Poly- galaceae. Milkwort. Annual or perennial herbs, sub- shrubs, shrubs or very seldom trees, sometimes planted in the open or some kinds raised under glass for the bloom. Leaves alternate or rarely opposite or verticillate, with or without stipules: infl. racemes or spikes, terminal, lateral, or forked, rarely axillary; fls. showy or small, colors various; calyx with very dissimilar sepals, the lateral (inner) pair larger; petals rarely 5, usually reduced to 3; stamens 8; ovary 2-celled: fr. a compressed 2-celled wing-margined or wingless caps. About 550 species scattered through the temperate and subtropical regions of the world and a few species in the tropics. Polygalas from a cultural standpoint may be grouped as hardy and tender species and the latter are sometimes cultivated under glass, frequently outdoors in the South, as in southern California. There are about forty North American species but only a few of them have been offered by dealers in native plants. The hardy species should be grown in rather light soil, but they require some moisture and are best adapted to partially shaded positions. They may be raised from seed sown in the fall or early spring. The more commonly cultivated species are the exotic ones, especially the shrubby Cape kinds which grow from 2 to 4 feet or more high, bearing subterminal racemes of large flowers. Index. acuminata, 10. Dalmaisiana, 7. oppositifolia, 5. alba, 1. dalmatiana, 7. paucifolia, 1. amatymbica, 10. grandiflora, 2, 6. poly gama, 4. apopetala, 9. grandis, 5 purpurea, 2 Chamaebuxus, 2. latifolia, 5. Senega. 3. cordata, 5. longiflora, 6. speciosa. 8. cordifolia, 5. major, 5. virgata, 8. dalmacina, 7. myrtifolia, 6, 7. Two other species have been recently intro. into cult. : P.branchypoda. Tod., whose native country is not known, has erect growth, green very straight branches, long and very narrow lvs., and numerous reddish purple fls. Intro, into Calif. P. Vayredae, Costa. A small plant 4 in. high, hardy or half-hardy in England, growing only a few inches high, with linear, evergreen lvs. and reddish purple fls. with a yellow keel. Spain. Closely resembles P. Chamoebuxus, but has narrower lvs. Wilhelm Milller. F. Tracy Hubbard. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

Do you have cultivation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Propagation

Do you have propagation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Pests and diseases

Do you have pest and disease info on this plant? Edit this section!

Gallery

If you have a photo of this plant, please upload it! Plus, there may be other photos available for you to add.

• 

  photo 1

• 

  photo 2

• 

  photo 3

References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Polygala. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Polygala QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)