4273.000 Polygala L.

Description of the genus

Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs. Flowers zygomorphic, papilionaceous, in terminal or lateral racemes, rarely solitary. Sepals unequal, 5, the 3 outer ones usually sepaloid (see note below) and the 2 inner ones (wings) larger and petaloid. The sepals are either all free or the 2 anterior ones are united. Petals 3(-5), the lowest one (the keel) usually crested; two lateral ones usually vestigial or 0, and 2 upper ones joined at the base to the keel. Stamens 8 (rarely 4 or 5), sometimes only 6 fertile with 2 staminodes. Ovary 2-locular. Fruit a flattened, capsule. Seeds 2, usually with a caruncle and with sericeous indumentum. Of the three outer, sepaloid sepals, two are anterior and one posterior. It is helpful to examine these plants when fresh and to note whether the anterior sepals are free or united. If they are united, note also if there are 8 fertile stamens or 6 fertile and 2 staminodes.

Worldwide: c. 500 species, ± cosmopolitan

Zambia: 37 taxa.

Polygala virgata var. decora

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsProvincesContent
africana ChodatB,N,W,SNw,N,Mc,S,WDescription, Image
albida Schinz subsp. albida N,W,C,SCb,N,Lk,SDescription, Image
albida Schinz subsp. stanleyana (Chodat) PaivaNNDescription, Image
arenicola Gürke W,C,SNw,C,Lk,S,W
baumii Gürke [NrEnd]W,CCb,CDescription, Image
britteniana ChodatNN
capillaris E. Mey.SS,WDescription, Image
claessensii ChodatN,WNw,N
dewevrei Exell WNw
erioptera DC.NLp,LkDescription, Image
exelliana Troupin N,WNw,N,Mc
friesii Chodat[LR-lc]N,WCb,Lp,N,C
goetzei GürkeN
gomesiana Welw. ex Oliv. WNw
gossweileri Exell & Mendonça WCb
homblei Exell WNw
kalaboensis Paiva
kalaxariensis SchinzBW
melilotoides ChodatN,W,CCb,N,C,Lk
mendoncae E.M.A. Petit WNw
myriantha ChodatW,C,SNw,C,LkDescription, Image
nambalensis Gürke B,WNw,W
nematophylla Exell
nyikensis Exell [NrEnd]EMcDescription, Image
persicariifolia DC.N,WCb,N,Lk
petitiana A. Rich. subsp. parviflora (Exell) PaivaN,WCb,N
petitiana A. Rich. subsp. petitiana var. petitiana W,CNw,LkDescription, Image
rivularis Gürke N,WNw,N
sphenoptera Fresen.B,N,SNw,C,Lk,SDescription, Image
spicata ChodatN,WNw,NDescription, Image
stenopetala KlotzschN,WNw,N,Lk
ukirensis Gürke N,WNw,N
usafuensis Gürke N,W,C,ECb,N,E,C
virgata Thunb. var. decora (Sond.) Harv.C,EE,CDescription, Image
welwitschii Chodat subsp. pygmaea (Gürke) PaivaNw,C,S,WDescription, Image
xanthina ChodatNN
youngii Exell Nw

Other sources of information about Polygala:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Polygala
Flora of Caprivi: Polygala
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Polygala
Flora of Malawi: Polygala
Flora of Mozambique: Polygala
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Polygala
Flora of Zimbabwe: Polygala
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Polygala

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Polygala
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Polygala
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Polygala
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Polygala
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Polygala
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Polygala
JSTOR Plant Science: Polygala
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Polygala
Plants of the World Online: Polygala
Tropicos: Polygala
Wikipedia: Polygala

Copyright: Mike Bingham, Annette Willemen, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Mark Hyde, 2011-24

Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2024). Flora of Zambia: Genus page: Polygala.
https://www.zambiaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=824, retrieved 19 March 2024

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