alternate; stipular glands none; inflorescence paniculate with spreading branches; 

 sepals 1.5-3 mm. long, entire or the inner with a few diminutive marginal glands; 

 petals yellow, 2.5-4.5 mm. long; staminodia none; styles separate, 1.2-2 mm. long; 

 fruit depressed-globose or subspherical, about 1.75 mm. high, splitting freely upon 

 drying into 10 segments; false septa nearly complete, eciliate; seeds about 1.2 mm. 

 long. 



Open or semishaded marshes, wet meadows, swamps, bogs and margins of 

 streams and roadside ditches, e. Tex. and s.e. Okla. {Waterfall), May-Aug.; Tex. 

 to n. Fla., n. to Mich, and Mass. 



Fam. 77. Polygalaceae R. Br. Milkwort Family 



Represented in our region only by the genus Polygala that differs from other 

 genera in the family primarily by its 2-celled dehiscent capsular fruit that very 

 rarely has one of the cells aborted. 



About 800 species in 12 genera of world-wide distribution. 



1. Polygala L. Polygala. Milkwort 



In our region herbaceous annuals or suffruticulose perennials with simple entire 

 leaves; leaves alternate, opposite or whorled, sessile to shortly petiolate; flowers in 

 terminal or axillary racemes, subsessile to distinctly pediceUate; sepals 5, the 3 

 outer herbaceous or the 2 lower very rarely petaloid, free or the 2 lower connate, 

 persistent or deciduous; the 2 inner sepals (wings) usually petaloid, much larger 

 than the others, deciduous, persistent; petals typically 3, united at base, the lower 

 (keel) cymbiform, clawed, occasionally 3-lobed, unappendaged or usually with 

 an apical beak or crest; the 2 upper petals ligulate to ovate, sometimes galeate, 

 united to staminal tube or keel (or both) at least at base; 2 lateral petals rarely 

 present, always minute; stamens 8 or rarely 6, the filaments united nearly to apex 

 into a sheath split on the upper side, adnate to keel and upper petals at base; 

 anthers usually confluently 1 -celled, opening by an apical or introrse-apical pore; 

 ovary 2-ceIled; ovules solitary, pendulous from the apex of the central placenta; 

 style usually slender and often elongate, bent, more or less excavated at apex; 

 stigma 2-lobed, often tufted; capsule equally or unequally 2-celled, winged to 

 margined or marginless, compressed contrary to the partition, usually membranous- 

 herbaceous, the cells usually dehiscent; seeds globose to fusiform or conic, usually 

 pubescent and almost always arillate. 



About 550 species of world-wide distribution. 



1. Sepals not decurrent on the pedicels; pedicels not winged; flowers never truly 

 yellow, the racemes never compounded into a cymose panicle (2) 



1. Sepals decurrent on the winged pedicels; flowers yellow or orange, often turning 



green in drying, sometimes compounded in a cymose panicle ( 10) 



2(1). Cleistogamous flowers present, borne on short leafless basal branches; 

 flowers bright rosy-purple, in loose racemes 1. P. polygama. 



2. Cleistogamous flowers absent, flowers white to purple (3) 



3(2). Wings less than half as long as keel; stem glaucous; aril cellular, equitant. 

 not obviously lobed 2. P. incarnata. 



3. Wings equal to or exceeding keel, rarely slightly shorter; stems not glaucous; 



aril 2-lobed, rarely obsolete (4) 



4(3). Racemes cylindric or conic-cylindric or at least distinctly tapering above 



(5) 

 A. Racemes capitate to ovoid or cylindric, obtuse or merely apiculate (7) 



5(4). Wings 3-3.3 mm. long 3. P. Hookeri. 



5. Wings 1.2-3 mm. long (6) 



1074 



