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Senega polygama

(Walter) J.F.B. Pastore & J.R. Abbott

Racemed Milkwort

G5Secure Found in 8 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.136232
Element CodePDPGL021B0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderPolygalales
FamilyPolygalaceae
GenusSenega
Synonyms
Polygala polygamaWalt.
Other Common Names
Polygale polygame (FR) racemed milkwort (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Taxonomic Comments
Pastore et al. (2023) transfer Polygala polygama to Senega polygama but do not publish combinations for infrataxa in the species. FNA (vol. 10, 2021) and Weakley (2025) also do not distinguish infrataxa.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-08-16
Change Date1984-06-25
Edition Date1995-03-03
Edition AuthorsM. E. Stover, TNC-HO
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Rank Reasons
Widespread in the United States and Canada.
Range Extent Comments
Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario, south through the eastern United States to Florida, west to Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Ecology & Habitat

Diagnostic Characteristics

Loose raceme with well-spaced, distinctly pediceled flowers; cleistogamous flowers from base of plant; largest sepals twice as long as wide; corolla distinctly fringed; flowers pink-purple to white; biennial or perennial.

Habitat

Dry woods and openings (Fernald 1950). Ohio: open to semi-open situations in dry to moist usually sandy soil: open woods, woods borders, dunes, banks, and fields (McCance and Burns 1984). Florida: dry pinelands and coastal dunes (Wunderlin 1982).

Reproduction

Showy chasmogamous flowers in terminal racemes; also cleistogamous flowers in underground, prostrate, or aerial racemes. Seeds have a conspicuous aril, promoting dispersal by ants; the subterranean cleistogamous flowers are self-"dispersed".
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandWoodland - HardwoodWoodland - ConiferWoodland - MixedGrassland/herbaceousSand/dune
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN4
ProvinceRankNative
Nova ScotiaS2Yes
OntarioS4Yes
QuebecS2Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
OklahomaS2Yes
DelawareSNRYes
WisconsinSNRYes
LouisianaSNRYes
ConnecticutSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
South CarolinaS4Yes
KentuckyS2Yes
IllinoisSNRYes
IowaS1Yes
GeorgiaSNRYes
MississippiSNRYes
MaineSNRYes
North CarolinaS2Yes
TexasSNRYes
ArkansasSNRYes
FloridaSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
New YorkS5Yes
MarylandS1Yes
VirginiaS4Yes
PennsylvaniaS1Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
VermontS2Yes
MassachusettsSNRYes
New HampshireSNRYes
West VirginiaS4Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
IndianaSNRYes
OhioS3Yes
New JerseyS2Yes
Plant Characteristics
DurationBIENNIAL, SPRING-FLOWERING, SUMMER-FLOWERING
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (8)
Georgia (5)
AreaForestAcres
Boggs CreekChattahoochee National Forest2,073
Joe GapChattahoochee National Forest5,321
Ken MountainChattahoochee National Forest527
Patterson GapChattahoochee National Forest1,186
Pink KnobChattahoochee National Forest12,127
North Carolina (1)
AreaForestAcres
Overflow CreekNantahala National Forest3,379
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bald River Gorge AdditionCherokee National Forest1,728
Texas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Little Lake CreekNational Forests in Texas596
References (10)
  1. Burns, J. F. 1984. The Polygalaceae of Ohio. Castanea 51(2): 137-144.
  2. Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. 8th edition. Corrected printing (1970). D. Van Nostrand Company, New York. 1632 pp.
  3. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2021. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 10. Magnoliophyta: Proteaceae to Elaeagnaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 456 pp.
  4. Gleason, H.A., and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York. 910 pp.
  5. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  6. McCance, R.M., Jr., and J.F. Burns, eds. 1984. Ohio endangered and threatened vascular plants: Abstracts of state-listed taxa. Division Natural Areas and Preserves, Ohio Dept. Natural Resources, Columbus. 635 pp.
  7. Pastore, J.F.B., Martinez, A., Abbott, J.R., and K. Neubig. 2023. Toward new generic delimitations in Polygalaceae II: Senega 1. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 108(1): 126-249.
  8. Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Univ. North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 1183 pp.
  9. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2025. Flora of the southeastern United States Web App. Edition of February 18, 2025. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Online. Available: https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu (accessed 2025).
  10. Wunderlin, R.P. 1982. Guide to the vascular plants of central Florida. Univ. Presses Florida, Gainesville. 472 pp.