Polygala mariana Mill.
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Photo courtesy Renee Brecht |
Britton & Brown |
| Botanical name: | Polygala mariana Mill. |
| Common name: | Maryland milkwort |
| Group: | Dicot |
| Family: | Polygalaceae |
| Growth type: | Forb/herb |
| Duration: | Annual |
| Origin: | Native |
| Plant height: | 4" - 16" |
| Foliage: | Leaves alternate, simple margins, linear. Bracts persist after anthesis. |
| Flower: | Small green to pinky purple flowers, 3 petals with 2 lateral triangular petals, in a blunt raceme |
| Flowering time: | June - October |
| Habitat: | Dry or moist sand, peat or clay |
| Range in New Jersey: | scattered throughout the Pine Barrens, specimens unknown |
| Heritage ranking, if any: | S2 |
| Distribution: |  |
| Misc. | Polygala, Greek "poly" = more or many; "gala" = milk; mariana = of Maryland. New population found 7/3/10 in Bear Swamp, Cumberland County, by Gerry Moore, PhD, Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Renee Brecht, Associate Director, Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River. The larva of the moth Phytoecia rhomboidalis feeds on this plant, as well as on Polygala lutea. |