M1LKWORT FAMILY. Polygalaceee 



An attractive species whose leaves are 

 Cross-leaved generally arranged in clusters of four 

 Poiyyaia hence the specific title, cruciata. Stem 



crucialit. square or almost winged at the angles, 



Dull magenta- widely branched, and smooth. The deli- 

 P' nk cate dull magenta flowers in heads like 



Se temb r clover bloom, with the florets crowded. 



3-13 inches high. Margins of swamps, or 

 low ground, from Me., south, and west to Minn, and La. 

 A species very similar to the last, but 

 Short- leaved w jfch a slenderer stem and shorter leaves 

 Po'SZ more sparingly distributed. The flower- 



brevifoiia spikes much smaller and the flowers 



Dull magenta- stemmed. 3-10 inches high . A coastwise 

 pink Polygala, common on the borders of brack- 



SeTember isn swam P s - from R - !> Long Island, N. 



J., and Del., south. 



A slender and smooth species with usu- 

 Whorled a \\y ni an y branches, and with long slender 



lance-shaped leaves tipped with a slight 

 vertidllata bristle, arranged in circles of 4-5, or scat- 

 Magenta- tered singly among the branches. The 

 tinged or greenish white or magenta- tinged flowers 



are compactly clustered in conic spikes, 

 September nearly an inch long. The little florets are 



distinctly stemmed. All the Polygalas are 

 assisted in the process of fertilization by the bees and 

 some of the smaller butterflies, notably Colias philodice, 

 yellow. 6-12 inches high. Common everywhere in 

 fields or on roadsides. The var. ambigua is nearly the 

 same in structure, but is taller, slenderer, and only the 

 lower leaves are in circles ; the others are alternate. 

 The flower-spikes are very long and loose, some of the 

 lower flowers being isolated ; the blossoms are a trifle 

 larger, and mostly a pale magenta. In dry soil, N. Y., 

 N. J., and Pa., south to Ga., and southwest to Tenn. 

 and La. 



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