Polygala barbeyana – Blue Milkwort

Polygala barbeyana - Blue Milkwort, Slenderlobe Milkwort (flowers)

Polygala barbeyana - Blue Milkwort, Slenderlobe Milkwort (flowers)

Polygala barbeyana - Blue Milkwort, Slenderlobe Milkwort

Polygala barbeyana - Blue Milkwort, Slenderlobe Milkwort (fruit)

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

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map