Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
Dicotyledon Literature for Polygala paniculata
Howard, 1989; Wagner et al., 1990.
   Polygalaceae -- The Milkwort Family Bibliography
      Polygala paniculata
General Information
DistributionNative to the Neotropics, now widely naturalized.In the Hawaiian Islands, naturalized on Kaua`i, O`ahu, Moloka`i, Lana`i, Maui, Hawai`i.
















Habit
Annual herbs; stems erect to ascending, 1-5 dm long, usually many branched, puberulent, roots with bubblegum like odor.
Leaves
Leaves numerous, lower ones often whorled, oblong lanceolate to linear, 1-2.5 cm long, 0.1-0.4 cm wide, 1 nerved, glabrous, apex acute, tapering to base.
Flowers
Flowers ca. 2 mm long, in axillary or pseudoterminal, slender racemes 3 12 cm long; outer sepals green, elliptic, 1/2 as long as inner ones, inner sepals (wings) petaloid, elliptic, ca. 2 mm long, 3 nerved; lateral petals narrowly ovate, the keel appendaged. Seeds black, ellipsoid, pubescent with short white hairs, aril small, with 2 membranous appendages.
Fruit
Capsule elliptic or oblong, 2.5-3 mm, as long as or longer than inner sepals, nearly wingless, glabrous.
Seeds
Seeds black, narrowly oblong, 2 mm, loosely sericeous pubescent, aril lateral, appressed, 0.4-0.8 mm, bilobed.
Chromosomes
2n = 52, 56.