Plant Name
Scientific Name: Polygala barbeyana
Synonyms: Polygala longa, P. racemosa, P. reducta, P. tenuiloba
Common Names: Blue Milkwort, Slenderlobe Milkwort
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual, Perennial
Growth Habit: Subshrub, Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Upland
Flower Color: Violet-blue to purple
Flowering Season: Spring, Summer, Early fall
Height: Up to 16 inches (40 cm) tall
Description: The flowers have 2 light blue to pale purple or green-tinged, petal-like lateral sepals, a darker-tipped, dorsally-cleft, central tube of fused petals, and a non-fringed keel petal. The flowers are followed by flattened, egg-shaped (in outline), light green seed capsules with hairless sides and hairy margins. The seed capsules dry and flatten further to translucent seed disks. The leaves are green, non-glandular, alternate, linear to lance-linear in shape and narrower near the stem tips. The stems are green, branched, and covered in fuzzy hairs.
The similar Velvetseed Milkwort (Polygala obscura) has broader leaves and seed capsules with hairy sides and margins.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Polygalales
Family: Polygalaceae – Milkwort family
Genus: Polygala L. – polygala
Species: Polygala barbeyana Chod. – blue milkwort
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