''Polygala amarella'' (or ''P. amara''), commonly known as dwarf milkwort or Kentish milkwort, is a plant of the family

Polygalaceae The Polygalaceae or the milkwort family are made up of flowering plants in the order Fabales. They have a near-cosmopolitan range, with about 27 genera and ''ca''. 900 known species of herbs, shrubs and trees. Over half of the species are in one ...

. A European native, it grows on chalky grass land and limestone mountain pastures.

Description

The plant typically grows up to 20 cm tall and has small, blue-purple flowers that bloom from May to August. The leaves are alternate, narrow, and smooth-edged, and the stems are slender and wiry.

Uses

Polygala amarella has traditionally been used in herbal medicine.

In media

In 2009 it featured on a first class Royal Mail stamp in the series "

Endangered Plants As of September 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists 3654 endangered plant species. 17% of all evaluated plant species are listed as endangered. The IUCN also lists 99 subspecies and 101 varieties as endangered ...

".Plants (Action for Species)

References

amarella Flora of Europe {{Polygalaceae-stub