Polygala
Taxonomic status
Accepted
Occurrence status
Present
Establishment means
Native
Degree of establishment
Native
Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs. Flowers resembling those of peas, in spikes or racemes. Sepals unequal, the lateral pair (wings) usually enlarged, often petaloid, all free or the lower pair shortly connate; petals 3, lower petal (keel) usually crested by a pair of branched or tufted appendages, upper petals united at base with lower one; stamens 8 (in Victoria); ovary 2-locular. Capsule 2-seeded; seeds usually silky-hairy, with a short aril.
About 350 species, cosmopolitan but chiefly tropical; c. 50 species in Australia, 5 naturalized.
Source:
Walsh, N.G. (1999). Polygalaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 4, Cornaceae to Asteraceae, pp. 130–137. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Updated by: Neville
Walsh,
8 Sep. 2014
Spinning
kingdom
phylum
class
order
family
Higher taxa
genus
Polygala
Subordinate taxa
species
species
species
species
species