''Polygala vulgaris'', known as the common milkwort, is a

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

plant of the genus '' Polygala'' in the family Polygalaceae.

Description

The biological form of ''Polygala vulgaris'' is '' hemicryptophyte'' '' scapose'',Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia – Edagricole – 1982. Vol. II, pag. 32 as its overwintering buds are situated just below the soil surface and the floral axis is more or less erect with a few leaves. ''Polygala vulgaris'' reaches on average in height. The stems have many branches and are woody at the base. It has alternating pointed leaves, almost glabrous, 2 to 4 mm wide and 10 to 20 mm long. Basal leaves are spatulate, with rounded apex, while the upper leaves are lanceolate. The flowers are gathered in long terminal inflorescences. The colour of the corolla varies between blue and violet, it can rarely occur in purple forms. The flower's outer three sepals are normally small, green and insignificant, whilst the inner two sepals are bigger. The inner sepals are usually shorter than the petals. The stalks of the eight stamens are joined to form a tube, and united with this tube, one on either side, are two tiny petals. On the lower side of the flower lies the third petal; it too, is joined to the stamen tube, but it is larger, and fringed. The flowering period extends from May through July. Common milkwort is quite similar to the heath milkwort ('' Polygala serpyllifolia''), but in this species the inner sepals are usually longer than the petals. The heath milkwort can be all the same colours except for white. These four possible colours account for the milkworts' Irish folk-name of 'four sisters'.

Distribution

This species is native to Europe, including European Russia, and to Turkey. It is an introduced species in the US (

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

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Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

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Habitat

Common milkwort grows in meadows, slopes, edges of forests, heaths, sunny woods, dunes and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

s. It is frequent in patches on calcerous grassland, from sea level up to 2200 meters.

Culture

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

, it was called '' Freya's hair'', but after the introduction of Christianity, it was renamed after the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

.Schön, Ebbe. (2004). ''Asa-Tors hammare, Gudar och jättar i tro och tradition''. Fält & Hässler, Värnamo. p. 228.

Medicinal uses

According to Classical and Renaissance writers common milkwort was used medicinally as an infusion to increase the flow of a nursing mother's milk.

Subspecies and varieties

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

recognises the following infraspecific names: * ''Polygala vulgaris'' var. ''caliptera'' – France * ''Polygala vulgaris'' subsp. ''collina'' – Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain * ''Polygala vulgaris'' subsp. ''insubrica'' – Italy * ''Polygala vulgaris'' subsp. ''oxyptera'' * ''Polygala vulgaris'' subsp. ''valdarnensis'' - Italy * ''Polygala vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris''

Gallery

File:Polygalaceae - Polygala vulgaris-1.JPG, In

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

File:Milkwort blue.JPG, Blue form File:Milkwort mauve.JPG, Mauve form File:Polygalaceae - Polygala vulgaris-2.JPG, In Genoa

References

* The Wild Flower Key British Isles-N.W. Europe by Francis Rose, page 132 * Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain - The Reader's Digest Association Limited, London, 2004
Acta Plantarum

External links

Biolib

Schede di Botanica
{{Taxonbar, from=Q162905 vulgaris Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Europe Flora of Turkey Flora without expected TNC conservation status