Spring Flora of Oklahoma 
89 
1. Polygala alba Nutt. White Milkwort. Perennial, glab¬ 
rous, erect, branched from the base. Leaves alternate, linear, 3"-12" 
long, entire. Spike terminal, dense, l'-2' long. Flowers 1"-1%" 
long, white. Wings oblong-ovate. Seeds silky, about twice the 
length of the caruncle lobes. 
Prairies. May-July. 
FAMILY 46. EUPHORBIACEiE. Spurge Family. 
Monoecious or dioecious herbs or shrubs, with acrid or 
milky sap. Leaves simple, sessile or petiolate, alternate 
or opposite. Stipules present or wanting. Flowers apet- 
alous or petaliferous, sometimes much reduced and sub¬ 
tended by an involucre which resembles a calyx, the num¬ 
ber of parts of the perianth varying in the staminate 
and pistillate flowers in the same species. Stamens few 
or numerous, in one series or many. Filaments separate 
or united. Ovary usually 3-celled. Ovules 1 or 2 in each 
cavity. Styles as many as the cavities in the ovary. 
Fruit a mostly 3-lobed capsule, separating into three 2- 
valved carpels from a persistent axis at maturity. 
Flowers not in an involucre, with a true calyx. 
Ovules 2 in each cavity of the ovary. 
I. Phyllanthus. 
Ovule 1 in each cavity of the ovary. 
Flowers spicate, racemose or axillary; calyx not 
corolla-like. 
Corolla present in either the staminate or pis¬ 
tillate flowers, or in both. II. Croton. 
Corolla none; pubescence not stellate. 
Pistillate flowers with foliaceous or scale-like 
bracts; stamens 8 or more. III. Tragia. 
Pistillate flower with glandular, saucer- 
