688 POLYGALACEAE 



mm. broad : seeds pubescent, the 2 lobes of the caruncle collateral, diverging or straddling 

 the seed, as long as the seed-body or only as long. [P. sanguined L.] 



In swamps, Nova Scotia and Ontario to Minnesota, south to North Carolina, Kentucky and the 

 Indian Territory. Summer. 



25. Polygala Curtissii A. Gray. Annual, glabrous throughout. Stems erect, 1-3 

 dm. tall, simple or sometimes much branched : leaves alternate, more or less spreading ; 

 blades linear, 1-2 cm. long, acute, sessile : racemes cylindric-ovoid or subglobose, 10-13 

 mm. thick, apiculate, long-peduncled : pedicels 1.5-2.5 mm. long, surpassing the persistent 

 bracts : flowers rose-purple : wings narrowly ovate, or ovate-elliptic, 4 mm. long, mucro- 

 nate, about 7-nerved, the midnerve thickened only at the apex : keel crested with a few 

 obtuse processes : stamens 8 : style markedly auricled at the almost sessile stigma, pro- 

 longed into a slender curved, tufted appendage : capsule cuneate or obovate-cuneate, about 

 2 mm. long : seeds 15 mm. long, pubescent, apiculate at the larger end, the 2 lobes of the 

 caruncle scale-like, obovate, about J as long as the seed-body. 



In sandy soil, Pennsylvania to Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama. Summer. 



26. Polygala Harperi Small. Annual, glabrous. Stems erect, 1.5-4 dm. tall, usually 

 somewhat branched : leaves alternate, erect or the upper ones appressed ; blades linear- 

 spatulate on the lower part of the stem passing to linear or linear-subulate above, 1-1.5 cm. 

 long or shorter on the branches, acute or minutely subulate-tipped, sessile : racemes globose- 

 ovoid, or broader than high, 10-12 mm. thick : pedicels 1.5-2.5 mm. long, twice or thrice 

 as long as the deciduous bracts : flowers pink : wings elliptic, 4 mm. long, 7-nerved, the 

 midnerve slightly thickened at the apex : keel crested with blunt processes : stamens 8 : 

 style slightly auricled at the closely sessile stigma, prolonged into a stout tufted appendage : 

 capsule obovate or orbicular-obovate, 2 mm. long : seeds 1 mm. long, sparingly pubescent, 

 the 2 lobes of the caruncle nearly as long as the seed-body. 



In pine lands, Georgia to Louisiana. Spring and summer. 



27 Polygala Hookeri T. & G. Annual, slender, glabrous. Stems erect, 1-3 dm. 

 tall, simple or branched, 4-angled : leaf -blades linear, usually in whorls of 4's, acute, the 

 lower ones very small, the others 3-12 mm. long, sessile, those of the branches scattered : 

 racemes long-peduncled, 7-8 mm. thick, attenuate at the apex, the rachis 1-4 cm. long : 

 pedicels 1.5-2 mm. long, their persistent bracts ovate, about $ as long as the pedicels : 

 flowers pink : wings ovate-lanceolate, about 4 mm. long, mucronate, 6-nerved : keel with 

 a small fimbriate crest : stamens 8 : capsule orbicular or reniform-orbicular, barely 2 mm. 

 long : seeds barely 1 mm. long, sparingly pubescent, the 2 lobes of the caruncle as long as 

 the seed-body or longer. 



In grassy pine lands, Florida to Texas. Summer to fall. 



28. Polygala brevifdlia Nutt. Annual, glabrous throughout. Stems 1-6 dm. long, 

 erect, or weak and decumbent, sometimes flexuous, simple or with spreading branches, 

 4-angled : leaves in whorls of 4's except the upper ones ; blades oblanceolate, linear to 

 narrowly elliptic, 1-2.5 cm. long, punctate, acute : racemes rather dense, ovoid, mainly 7-8 

 mm. thick, often apiculate, peduncled : pedicels 1-2 mm. long, surpassing their persistent 

 bracts : flowers rose-purple : wings ovate or ovate-oblong, 3.5-4.5 mm. long, apiculate by 

 the thickened excurrent midnerve : keel with a crest of a few thick processes : stamens 8 : 

 capsule orbicular or reniform-orbicular, 2 mm. wide : seeds 1.5 mm. long, sparingly pubes- 

 cent, the 2 lobes of the caruncle about as long as the seed-body. 



In sandy swamps, Rhode Island to Florida and Mississippi. Summer and fall. 



29. Polygala cruciata L. Annual, glabrous. Stems 0.5-4 dm. tall, more or less 

 branched, 4-angled : leaves in whorls of 4's or 5' s ; blades spatulate, linear-spatulate or almost 

 linear, 1-3 cm. long, acute or acutish : racemes dense, 1-5 cm. long, 1-2 cm. thick, cylin- 

 dric, sessile or short -peduncled : flowers rose purplish or greenish : wings deltoid, each 

 tipped with a tail-like acumination, variable in size : keel with a crest of few, rather thick 

 processes : stamens 8 : seeds about 1.5 mm. long, the caruncle-lobes as long as the seed -body 

 or somewhat shorter. 



In bogs or moist soil, Maine to Minnesota, Florida and Louisiana. Summer. A robust form from 

 the Gulf States, with relatively narrower leaf-blades, pedunculate racemes and more purple flowers, is P 

 cruciata ramosior Nash. 



30. Polygala nkn a ( Mich x. ) DC. Biennial, glabrous throughout. Stems erect or 

 ascending, simple, solitary, or often tufted, 1-15 cm. tall, sometimes almost wanting : leaves 

 thick, the basal often numerous, spatulate, 1-4 cm. long, rounded or mucronate at the apex, 

 stem-leaves few, scattered, with narrowly spatulate or oblanceolate cuspidate blades, or 

 wanting : racemes subglobose or cylindric, 1-1.5 cm. thick, dense, the early ones sessile, 

 the later ones peduncled ; rachis 2-5 cm. long : flowers yellow or greenish yellow, turning 

 dark green or nearly black in drying : wings ovate-lanceolate, about 3 mm. long, long- 



