Field Milkwort

(Polygala sanguinea)

 

   

 

 

Color Photograph: Paul Jackson, Cedar Creek Natural History Area, LTER, U.S. Dept. Energy and National Science Foundation.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Field Milkwort (Polygala sanguinea L.)

Identification: Flowers usually deep rose, although sometimes green or white. Flowers aranged in densely packed, cylindrical heads at the apex of the plant and its stems. Leaves narrow, linear, placed singly (alternate) along the stem, not in whorls. Plant 6 to 15 inches in height.

Distribution: Minnesota in the west to Nova Scotia in the east, southward to Georgia and Texas. Also occurs in the Prairie States.

Habitat: Field Milkweed in found in fields and meadows.

Flowering period: June to October.

Similar Species: The single leaves, not whorls of leaves, will separate this species from several relatives including Cross-leaved Milkwort, Whorled Milkweed, and Short-leaved Milkwort. The flower head of Curtiss' Milkwort has a much more open head. The flowers of Seneca Snakeroot are loose, white, and not compacted into a distinct head.

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