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blue milkwort
Scientific Name: Polygala barbeyana
Family: Polygalaceae
Category: Dicot
Growth: Subshrub, Forb/herb
Duration: Annual, Perennial
Other Names:
Common Milkwort (Polygala vulgaris)
Common Milkwort, scientifically known as Polygala vulgaris, is also sometimes simply called Milkwort. Other species within the Polygala genus such as Polygala barbeyana are known as Blue Milkwort or Slenderlobe Milkwort.
Taxonomy and Nomenclature
- Scientific Name: Polygala vulgaris
- Family: Polygalaceae
- The genus Polygala is quite large, encompassing many species of flowering plants.
Distribution and Habitat
- Common Milkwort is found in grasslands.
- Heath Milkwort (Polygala serpyllifolia) is found on acid, peaty soils and moorland, as well as wet, marshy grassland.
- Polygala barbeyana (Blue Milkwort) occurs across southern Australia, including South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania, and in Western Australia, southwest of a line.
Morphological Characteristics and Growth Habits
- Common Milkwort is a herbaceous perennial plant.
- It is low-growing, sometimes trailing.
- The corolla color varies between blue and violet, and can rarely occur in purple or pink forms. White forms also exist.
- Flowers are small (5-6mm) and grow in short spikes of 3-10, flowering from May to September.
- The outer three sepals are normally small and green.
- Common Milkwort leaves alternate up the stem, unlike Heath Milkwort which has different leaf arrangement.
- Some varieties have slightly hairy stems.
Quirky Facts
- Historically, plants from the Polygala genus were "formerly supposed" to have certain properties.
Related Species
- Polygala amara (Bitter Milkwort)
- Polygala serpyllifolia (Heath Milkwort)
- Polygala barbeyana (Blue Milkwort) Synonyms include: Polygala longa, Polygala racemosa, Polygala reducta
- Comesperma calymega (Blue-spike Milkwort)