S94 



Okpsr 15.— POLYGALACH^. 



OQ tho upper side. Ouarj/ superior, compound, with suspended ovules, united stales 



.md stigmaa. Fruit a 2-ceIlod, 2-seoded pod. Seeds pendulous, furnished with a 



caruncle. _. . „ 



Genera 20, specie/i 500. The genua Polygaln 

 is very generally distributed. Tlie dthergeneni 

 are mostly limited eftcli to a particular quarter 

 of tlie slobe. Properties t'eiifrnlly hitter, acrid 

 and astringent, with a milky .iuice in the root, 

 llhatany-root, tho root of Krauieria, use<l lu 

 jncdicinc, yields a deep red color and is used 

 to adulterate port wine. Tho itiore active 

 species of Polygala, as 1*. Sene;in, eanpuinen, 

 purpurea, etc., are emetic, purgative and diu- 

 retic. 



POLYGALA, Tourn. Milkwort. 

 (Gr. TToXvg, inucli, yoAa, milk ; said 

 to favor the lacteal secretions of 

 animals.) Flowers very irregular. 

 Sepals 5, 2 of them wing-shaped 

 and petaloid ; petals 3, cohering 

 by their claws to the filaments, 

 lower one carinate and often crested 

 on the back ; stamens 6 or 8, fila- 

 ments united into a split tube; an- 

 thers 1-ccllcd ; capsule obcordate, 

 2-celled, 2-secded, locidicidal ; seed 

 appendaged with a various caruncle 

 at tho hilum. — Bitter herbs in the 

 IT. S. and Can. (elsewhere often 

 shrubby), with simple Ivs. Fls. 

 often of two forms, the subterra- 

 nean apetalous. 



Perennial 'No. I 



Biennial Kos. 2, 3 



Perennial N(». 4 



Spike capitate. — Caruncle double Nos. 5, 7 



— Caruncle appears fcimplo. Annual. Nos. S — .10 



— Fls.xanthic. — Spikes solitary', large, liiennial .' Nos. 11, 13 



— Spikes numerous, corymbed, small. Biennial Nos. J3, 14 



Leaves vcrticillato on the stem — Spikes acute, slender Nos. 15, 16 



— Spikes obtuse, thick Nos, 17, 18 



1 P. pauoifolia L. St. simple, erect, naked below ; Ivs. ovate, acute, smooth ; 

 terminal fls. large, crested, radical ones apetalous. — A small, handsome plant, 

 with a few large (10" long) purple flowers. Woods and swamps, Brit. Am. to 

 Ga. St. 3 to 4' high, with its acute Ivs. mostly near tho top, 2 to 4 flowers above 

 them. Cal, of 5 leaves, the upper one gibbous at base. Corolla mostly purple, 

 with a purple crest on its middle lobe. Tho radical fls. are either close to the 

 ground or, subterraneous, smaller, greenish, wanting the wings of tho calyx. 

 May. 



2 P. grandifldra Walt. Ascending, pubescent; Ivs. ovate-lanceolate to lancc- 

 iinear, acute ; fls. distant, pendulous after blooming, wings large, roundish, cover- 

 ing the corolla and fruit, keel as long as the wings (3"), cresiless. — @,? Common in 

 dry soils, S. Car., Ga., Ma. to La. A pretty plant, 9 to 12' high, remarkable for 

 its changeable flowers, rose-colored at first, soon becoming green and drooping, 

 and alone destitute of a crest, having a yellow callosity instead. Lvs. 9 to 15" 

 long, 2 to 4" wide, often nearly glabrous. May — Aug. 



3 P. pol^gama Walt Sts. simple, numerous, glabrous; lvs. linear oblong, mu- 

 cronate, obtuse ; fls. racemed, short-pediceled, those of the stem winged, those 

 of the root wingless ; keel cristate. — Fields and pastures, Can. to Fla. and La. 

 Sts. crowded, many from the same root, angular, smooth. Lvs. smooth, lower 



6S7. Polygals 

 polygama. 

 radical flowers. 

 K,paucifolia,/, the 

 rvQul oa the lower 

 petal. 0, The sta- 

 mens in 2 sets sad the fifylc seen beneath the hooded 

 liHver petal. 6-;0, The ovary and the style. 1. Reed 

 of ]'. flaiiffuinea with its ;i-lobcd caruncle. 2. Seed 

 of P. Nuttallii. 



Leaves alternate. — Fls. purple, solitary, 2 to 4. 

 — Fla. purple, racemed, many. 

 — Fls. white. Spike slender. 

 —Fls. purple. 



