Polygala

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Genus of flowering plants

title: "Polygala" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["polygala", "polygalaceae-genera"] description: "Genus of flowering plants" topic_path: "general/polygala" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygala" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of flowering plants ::

| image = Polygala vulgaris 290504.jpg | image_caption = Polygala vulgaris | taxon = Polygala | authority = Tourn. ex L. | type_species = Polygala vulgaris | type_species_authority = L. | subdivision = See text | synonyms =

  • Brachytropis Rchb.
  • Isolophus Spach
  • Microlophium Fourr.
  • Phylax Noronha
  • Pilostachys Raf.
  • Plostaxis Raf.
  • Psychanthus Raf.
  • Tricholophus Spach

Polygala is a large genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Polygalaceae. They are commonly known as milkworts or snakeroots. The genus is distributed widely throughout much of the world in temperate zones and the tropics. The genus name Polygala comes from the ancient Greek "much milk", as the plant was thought to increase milk yields in cattle.

Description

As traditionally circumscribed, Polygala includes annual and perennial plants, shrubs, vines, and trees.

Taxonomy

The genus Polygala was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1754. Phylogenetic studies showed that, as traditionally circumscribed, the genus was not monophyletic. It had become a "wastebasket taxon"; almost all species with a flower apparently similar to those of the Papilionoideae – two petaloid lateral sepals forming 'wings', two petals forming a 'standard', and one petal forming a 'keel', plus a bilocular fruit capsule – were placed in Polygala, while species with more obviously specialized features, particularly those of the fruit, were placed in other genera. In 2011, John Richard Abbott separated some more sharply defined genera from Polygala.

Species

Main article: List of Polygala species

Partly because of differing circumscriptions, the reported number of valid species in the genus varies from about 350 to 500 or 730. The Americas have the most species, especially South America, with Africa second in diversity and Asia third. , Plants of the World Online accepted about 420 species in the genus Polygala. These include: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Polygala_amara_a1.jpg" caption="''[[Polygala amara]]''"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Polygala_myrtifolia_(2921770836).jpg" caption="''[[Polygala myrtifolia]]''"] ::

Former species

Hybrid

Polygala × dalmaisiana (of garden origin)

Ecology

Polygala species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including large grizzled skipper.

Cultivation

Some species are valued in cultivation. Polygala × dalmaisiana, an evergreen shrub, has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

References

References

  1. [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=126390 ''Polygala''.] Flora of China.
  2. [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=39031 ''Polygala''.] The Jepson eFlora 2013.
  3. Coombes, A. J.. (2012). "The A to Z of Plant Names". Timber Press.
  4. Dilworth, M. J.. (2008). "Nitrogen-fixing leguminous symbioses". Springer.
  5. (2011). "Notes on the disintegration of ''Polygala'' (Polygalaceae), with four new genera for the Flora of North America". Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas.
  6. Coelho, V. P. D. M., et al. (2008). [http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0102-33062008000100022&script=sci_arttext&tlng=pt Flora of Paraíba, Brazil: ''Polygala'' L.(Polygalaceae).] ''Acta Botânica Brasilica'' 22(1), 225-39. (Portuguese)
  7. Coelho, V. P. D. M., et al. (2008). [http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0102-33062008000100022&script=sci_arttext&tlng=pt Flora of Paraíba, Brazil: ''Polygala'' L.(Polygalaceae).] ''Acta Botânica Brasilica'' 22(1), 225-39. (Portuguese)
  8. Pastore, J. F. B. and T. B. Cavalcanti. (2008). [https://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/20406252?uid=3739560&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21102541040413 A New Species of ''Polygala'' (Polygalaceae) from Brazil.] ''Novon'' 18(1), 90-93.
  9. "''Polygala'' Tourn. ex L.". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  10. "RHS Plant Selector - ''Polygala'' × ''dalmaisiana''".

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