686 POLYGALACEAE 



racemes spike-like, cylindric, 8-10 mm. thick, long-peduncled, usually dense : pedicels 

 0.5-1 mm. long, the bracts deciduous : flowers pink or purple, rarely white : wings lanceo- 

 late, 4 mm. long, 5-nerved, mucronate, conduplicate at the apex : petals united below into 

 a cleft tube, 6-8 mm. long, the keel crested with several entire or cleft processes : stamens 

 8 : style filiform, auricled near the almost sessile stigma, prolonged into a short tufted 

 appendage : capsule 4 mm. long, grooved : seeds pubescent, beaked, the 2 lobes of the 

 caruncle spongy, lenticular, enveloping the beak. 



In sandy soil, New Jersey to Ontario and Wisconsin, south to Florida, the Indian Territory and 

 Mexico. Summer. 



13. Polygala Hugeri Small. Annual, glabrous. Stems about 1.5 dm. tall, branched 

 from near the base and thence throughout : leaves numerous ; blades linear, 1-2 cm. long, 

 acute, sessile, somewhat fleshy: racemes lax, interrupted, few-flowered: pedicels 1.5-2 

 mm. long, surpassed by the bracts : flowers pink : wings oblong, 3-3.5 mm. long, some- 

 what narrowed near the apex and apiculate : keel crested with few very short processes : 

 style slightly auricled just above the stigma and tipped with a tufted appendage : seeds about 

 1 mm. long. 



On hillsides, Andrews, North Carolina. Summer. 



14. Polygala Chapmanii T. & G. Annual, slender, glabrous. Stems erect, wire- 

 like, 2-5 dm. tall, simple or sparingly branched above : leaves alternate, bristle-like, 0.4-2 

 cm. long, sometimes appressed : racemes ovoid to cylindric, 6-8 mm. thick, slender- 

 peduncled, the rachis 2-4 cm. long : pedicels slender, 1-1.5 mm. long, their bracts persis- 

 tent : flowers pink or purplish ; wings ovate-oval or oval, about 3 mm. long, minutely 

 apiculate, 9-nerved, the midnerve thickened at the tip : keel crested with 2 or a few 

 papillae : stamens 8 : style auricled at the sessile stigma, prolonged into a curved append- 

 age : seeds beaked , pubescent with pale hairs, the 2 caruncle-lobes \-\ as long as the seed- 

 body, straddling the beak. 



In low pine lands, near the coast, Florida and Mississippi. Spring to summer. 



15. Polygala paludosa St. Hil. Annual, very slender, glabrous. Stems erect or 

 ascending, 2-6 dm. tall, often almost filiform, usually sparingly branched above : leaves 

 alternate, acicular or filiform, few, 0.5-2 cm. long : racemes spike-like, 2-4 mm. thick, 

 elongated, slender-peduncled, the rachis 2-10 cm. long, loosely-flowered : pedicels 0.5-1 

 mm. long, their bracts deciduous : flowers pale-purple : wings spatulate, elliptic-obovate or 

 oblong, 1-2 mm. long, the blades often 3-nerved, narrowed into a short claw, twice larger 

 than the other sepals : keel crested with a few processes : stamens 8 : style minute, hooded 

 at the sessile or nearly sessile stigma, prolonged into a filiform tufted appendage, or the 

 tuft sometimes sessile or wanting : capsule about 1.5 mm. long : seeds very pubescent, 

 the 2 lobes of the caruncle minute. 



In sandy soil, Mississippi to Texas and Mexico. Spring and summer. 



16. Polygala Boykinii Nutt. Annual or perhaps perennial. Stems branched at the 

 base, the branches erect or ascending, 2-6 dm. tall, wire-like, angled, simple or sparingly 

 branched : leaves in whorls of 4's or 5's, the lower ones with obovate or oblong-obovate 

 blades, 0.5-1 cm. long, gradually becoming narrower and longer to linear-lanceolate or 

 linear, 1-3 cm. long at the top of the stem, acute or acutish, those on the branchlets 

 alternate : racemes spike-like, 4-6 mm. thick below, narrowly conic, long-peduncled, the 

 rachis 2-15 cm. long : pedicels 1 mm. long, their bracts deciduous : flowers white or green- 

 ish white : wings suborbicular, varying to ovate or obovate, fully 2 mm. long, obtuse, sev- 

 eral times larger than the other sepals : keel crested with a few broad processes : stamens 

 8 : style hooded above the stalked stigma, produced above into a curved tufted appendage : 

 capsule 3-4 mm. long : seeds stout, pubescent, the 2 lobes of the caruncle -f as long as 

 the seed-body or rarely longer, sometimes overlapping. 



In calcareous soil, Georgia to Florida and Louisiana. Spring and summer. 



17. Polygala sparsifolia (Wheelock) Small. Annual, glabrous. Stems 3-6 dm. tall, 

 sparingly branched or bushy, sometimes nearly naked : leaves in a few approximate whorls, 

 near the base of the stem or alternate ; blades linear to lanceolate, 8-10 mm. long or smaller, 

 acute or sharp-tipped, sessile : racemes spike-like, 2-5 cm. long, 3-4 mm. thick, on long 

 and slender peduncles, tapering : flowers pale, early deciduous, leaving a long naked 

 rachis : wings oval or orbicular-oval, about 2 mm. long : capsule oval-elliptic, barely 2 

 mm. long : seeds slender, strigillose, with a 2-lobed caruncle about \ the length of the 

 seed-body. [P. Boykinii var. sparsifolia Wheelock. ] 



In coral soil, Pine and Cudjoe Keys, Florida. 



18. Polygala alba Nutt. Annual or biennial or perhaps perennial, glabrous. Stems 

 branched at the base ; branches usually numerous, erect or ascending, 1-5 dm. tall, angled, 

 usually simple : leaves alternate ; blades linear, linear-lanceolate or nearly subulate, 1-2. 5 



