Polygala sanguinea L.

Field milkwort, blood milkwort, purple milkwort

About plant names...

Field milkwort is a North American native plant. These plants do well in sandy or rocky soils with low nutritional content, in both dry or moist conditions.

Plants: 3-16" (7.6-40 cm) in height, with a hairless stem, although it may look pock-marked and irregular near the top from flowers that have dropped away. A cross-section of the stem resembles the keel of a ship or has four sharply-defined edges. The thin taproot smells a bit like wintergreen.

Leaves: Linear or narrowly elliptic, attached directly to the stem (sessile) or via very short stems, up to 1" (3 cm) × ¹/₁₆-⅛" (2-5 mm). They may be either alternate or opposite.

Flowers: A compact raceme atop each stem, which may be purplish-pink, rose-colored, white, or pale green. The coloring comes from enlarged sepals called “wings.” The entire flowerhead is up to ¾" (2 cm) tall and about ⅜" (1 cm) around. They appear from May to October.

Fruits: Each tiny flower becomes a tiny capsule with two hairy seeds.

Online References:

Illinois Wildflowers

Missouriplants.com

Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

The New England Wildflower Society’s GoBotany site

Luirig.altervista.org

Discover Life

Ct-botanical-society.org

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 82

9/16/2013 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 5" (16 × 13 cm)

8/3/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4 × 2½" (10 × 7.1 cm)

8/17/2021 · Center Pond Preserve, Red Trail, Phippsburg, Maine
≈ 3½ × 4" (9.4 × 10 cm)

7/6/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4 × 6" (11 × 16 cm)

9/16/2013 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 6" (15 × 14 cm)

Individual flowers are bilaterally symmetrical, and consist of two “wings,” which are actually sepals; and a smaller yellow corolla, the true flower. There are also three more sepals and three petals, but they are too small to see in this view. · 7/29/2023 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts

9/11/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4 × 2½" (10 × 6.9 cm)

10/7/2021 · Power Lines Trails, Highland Green, Topsham, Maine
≈ 3 × 2" (7.4 × 5.5 cm)

Polygala sanguinea description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 24 Aug 2021.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

9/11/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3 × 3" (8.3 × 7.6 cm)

8/3/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 6" (13 × 15 cm)

8/17/2021 · Center Pond Preserve, Red Trail, Phippsburg, Maine
≈ 3½ × 4" (8.7 × 11 cm)

9/16/2013 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 2½ × 2½" (7.2 × 7.1 cm)

8/17/2021 · Center Pond Preserve, Red Trail, Phippsburg, Maine
≈ 4 × 6" (10 × 15 cm)

8/17/2021 · Center Pond Preserve, Red Trail, Phippsburg, Maine
≈ 4½ × 3" (12 × 8.5 cm)

9/11/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3½ × 3½" (9.8 × 8.6 cm)

8/3/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3½ × 5" (9 × 13 cm)

8/3/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4½ × 7" (11 × 16 cm)

8/7/2012 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4 × 5" (10 × 13 cm)

8/3/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4½ × 5" (11 × 13 cm)

Range:

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