MILKWORT FAMILY 123 



of the "abominable mysteries" of the plant world. It was 

 formerly held that each difference, however slight, was 

 of some special service to the plant, but the present opin- 

 ion is that many such peculiarities are of no use whatever, 

 but are due to slight variations which, not being harmful, 

 have been perpetuated. 



The most noticeable polygalas during winter and early 

 spring are those that Floridians call "thimbles" and 

 ^'bachelors' buttons/' P. Rugelii which blooms in clear 

 yellow, and the lower P. lutea with orange colored flowers. 

 These polygalas, whose tiny flowers are densely crowded 

 in thimble-like heads at the tips of the stems, are com- 

 mon in low pinelands and borders of marshes. The dwarf 

 milkwort, P. nana, found in similar locations, has the 

 appearance of endeavoring, with some success, to pull 

 itself back into the earth from which it sprang. Very 

 low it is, and with a greenish tinge in its pale yellow 

 flowering-heads, which are close to their rosette of basal 

 leaves. 



In early spring the fragrant, tall P. cymosa begins to 

 lift its flat-topped, branched inflorescence above the dry 

 marsh grasses that grew rankly during the rainy season 

 of the previous summer. Similar to this is the lower 

 P. ramosa, which shows the same preference for wet 

 places, but is seldom a foot in height, and occasionally 

 blooms in winter. Another of this group, P. Baldwinii, 

 which blossoms in white, is locally abundant on low 

 prairies, as is the similar P. Carteri of southern Florida, 

 whose pointed racemes are greenish. The roots of the 

 species mentioned above have a spicy fragrance that is 

 suggestive of wintergreen. 



P. grandiflora, often seen in dooryards, differs from 

 the above in bearing rose-colored flowers, about a quarter 

 of an inch long, scattered along slender stems. The bright 

 sepals enlarge and change to green as the seeds ripen, and 

 loosely enfold the capsule. In P. polygama the rose-col- 



