Polygalaceae

Belongs within: Fabales.

The Polygalaceae are a family of flowering plants including the milkworts and related taxa. Members of the Polygalaceae often have flowers with the lower petal keeled. Trees of the genus Xanthophyllum are used as a source of fine wood and have flowers with five petals as opposed to the three petals of other Polygalaceae. The largest genus, Polygala, is distributed worldwide and includes herbs, shrubs and small trees with compressed, two-seeded, capsular fruit.

Characters (from Chen, Ma & Parnell): Perennial or annual herbs or shrubs or trees, rarely small herbs (the latter sometimes saprophytic). Leaves simple, alternate, opposite, or whorled, petiolate or sessile, papery or leathery, with pinnate veins, margin entire, leaves rarely reduced and scalelike; stipules absent, sometimes spiniform or scalelike appendages present. Flowers bisexual, zygomorphic, white, yellow, or purple-red, pedicellate or sessile, in axillary or terminal racemes, panicles, or spikes, with bracts and usually also with bracteoles. Calyx persistent or caducous; sepals 5, free or connate at base, outer 3 small, inner 2 (alae) large, petal-like, or all 5 nearly equal. Petals 3 or 5, basally often connate, lower (median) one (“keel”) usually inflexed, carinate, sometimes with fimbriate or lamellate or papilionaceous apical appendages. Stamens 8, 7, 5, or 4; filaments free, or variously united and forming a sheath open on upper side and troughlike; anthers basifixed, usually dehiscing by a single apical pore. Disk usually absent, if present annular or glandular. Ovary superior, 1- or 2-loculed; ovule 1 per locule, anatropous, pendulous, rarely ovules numerous and placentas parietal; style 1, erect or curved; stigmas 1 or 2, capitate. Fruit a 2-loculed capsule, dehiscing by valves, or a 1-loculed samara or a berrylike drupe, dehiscing or not. Seeds 2, or 1 with 1 sterile locule, yellow-brown, dark castaneous, or black, ovoid, globose, or ellipsoidal, glabrous or piliferous, strophiolate or not, with or without endosperm, sometimes with an appendage at end opposite to strophiole.

<==Polygalaceae [Polygaleae]
    |--XanthophyllumH03
    `--MoutabeeaeH03
         |--BalgoyaH03
         `--+--EriandraH03
            `--Diclidanthera forrestiiH03, EF04
Polygalaceae incertae sedis:
  PolygalaLBM08
    |--P. acanthocladaH93
    |--P. (subg. Polygala) altomontana Lüdtke, Boldrini & Miotto 2008LBM08
    |--P. arilataD07
    |--P. californicaCP13
    |--P. cornutaH93
    |    |--P. c. var. cornutaH93
    |    `--P. c. var. fishiae [incl. P. cornuta var. pollardii]H93
    |--P. cruciataWM09
    |--P. eriocephalaLK14
    |--P. eriopteraPP07
    |--P. exsquarrosaLK14
    |--P. galeocephalaLK14
    |--P. guerichianaCV06
    |--P. heterorhyncha [=P. subspinosa var. heterorhyncha]H93
    |--P. intermontana [incl. P. acanthoclada var. intricata]H93
    |--P. linariifoliaLK14
    |--P. longifoliaLK14
    |--P. monspeliacaPT98
    |--P. myrtifoliaGK00
    |--P. nicaeensis Risso ex Koch 1839PL04
    |    |--P. n. ssp. nicaeensisPL04
    |    `--P. n. ssp. mediterranea Chodat 1889PL04
    |--P. orbicularisLK14
    |--P. paucifoliaNDA05
    |--P. penaeaJ87
    |--P. sabulosaLBM08
    |--P. subspinosaH93
    |--P. venenosaR44
    |--P. verticillataJ23
    `--P. wightianaLK14
  ComespermaLK14
    |--C. calymegaGK00
    |--C. ciliatumGK00
    |--C. confertumW89
    |--C. drummondiiGK00
    |--C. ericinumH87
    |--C. flavumGK00
    |--C. integerrimumOS04
    |--C. scopariumOS04
    |--C. secundumLK14
    |--C. sphaerocarpaM89
    |--C. sylvestreC08
    |--C. virgatumGK00
    `--C. volubileG04
  SalomoniaLK14
    |--S. cantoniensisDD73
    |--S. ciliataLK14
    `--S. oblongifoliaH09
  SecuridacaWM09
    |--S. diversifoliaWM09
    `--S. virgataJ87
  MonninaMM96
    |--M. phytolaccifoliaCP13
    `--M. xalapensisMM96
  ‘Psilastephanocolporites’ fissilisCBH93

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[C08] Cambage, R. H. 1908. Notes on the native flora of New South Wales. Part VI. Deepwater to Torrington and Emmaville. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 33 (1): 45–65, pls 1–2.

[CP13] Cardoso, D., R. T. Pennington, L. P. de Queiroz, J. S. Boatwright, B.-E. Van Wyk, M. F. Wojciechowski & M. Lavin. 2013. Reconstructing the deep-branching relationships of the papilionoid legumes. South African Journal of Botany 89: 58–75.

[CBH93] Collinson, M. E., M. C. Boulter & P. L. Holmes. 1993. Magnoliophyta (‘Angiospermae’). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 809–841. Chapman & Hall: London.

[CV06] Craven, P., & P. Vorster. 2006. Patterns of plant diversity and endemism in Namibia. Bothalia 36 (2): 175–189.

[D07] Dash, S. S. 2007. Useful plants of Kabi Sacred Grove, Sikkim. Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 49: 79–88.

[DD73] Deb, D. B., & R. M. Dutta. 1973. Contribution to the flora of Tirap Frontier Division. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 69 (3): 547–573.

[EF04] Etten, E. J. B. van, & J. E. D. Fox. 2004. Vegetation classification and ordination of the central Hamersley Ranges, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 87 (2): 63–79.

[G04] Gibson, N. 2004. Flora and vegetation of the Eastern Goldfields Ranges: part 7. Middle and South Ironcap, Digger Rock and Hatter Hill. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 87 (2): 49–62.

[GK00] Gibson, N., & G. J. Keighery. 2000. Flora and vegetation of the Byenup-Muir reserve system, south-west Western Australia. CALMScience 3 (3): 323–402.

[H87] Haviland, E. 1887. Flowering seasons of Australian plants. No. II. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (4): 1103–1104.

[H03] Heads, M. 2003. Ericaceae in Malesia: vicariance biogeography, terrane tectonics and ecology. Telopea 10 (1): 311–449.

[H09] Hedley, C. 1909. The Marine Fauna of Queensland: Address by the President of Section D. Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science: Brisbane.

[H93] Hickman, J. C. (ed.) 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press: Berkeley (California).

[J23] James, E. 1823. Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, performed in the years 1819 and ’20, by order of the Hon. J. C. Calhoun, sec’y of war: under the command of Major Stephen H. Long. From the notes of Major Long, Mr. T. Say, and other gentlemen of the exploring party vol. 1. H. C. Carey & I. Lea: Philadelphia.

[J87] Judd, W. S. 1987. Floristic study of Morne La Visite and Pic Macaya National Parks, Haiti. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum—Biological Sciences 32 (1): 1–136.

[LBM08] Lüdtke, R., I. I. Boldrini & S. T. S. Miotto. 2008. Polygala altomontana (Polygalaceae), a new species from southern Brazil. Kew Bulletin 63 (4): 665–667.

[LK14] Lyons, M. N., G. J. Keighery, L. A. Gibson & T. Handasyde. 2014. Flora and vegetation communities of selected islands off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 81: 205–244.

[M89] Maiden, J. H. 1889. Notes on the geographical distribution of some New South Wales plants, compiled from information supplied by W. Bauerlen, and from some diagnoses by Baron von Mueller, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., &c. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 4 (1): 107–112.

[MM96] Mound, L. A., & R. Marullo. 1996. The thrips of Central and South America: an introduction (Insecta: Thysanoptera). Memoirs on Entomology, International 6: 1–487.

[NDA05] Nickrent, D. L., J. P. Der & F. E. Anderson. 2005. Discovery of the photosynthetic relatives of the “Maltese mushroom” Cynomorium. BMC Evolutionary Biology 5: 38.

[OS04] Obbens, F. J., & L. W. Sage. 2004. Vegetation and flora of a diverse upland remnant of the Western Australian wheatbelt (Nature Reserve A21064). Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 87 (1): 19–28.

[PP07] Pandey, R. P., & P. M. Padhye. 2007. Studies on phytodiversity of Arid Machia Safari Park-Kailana in Jodhpur (Rajasthan). Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 49: 15–78.

[PT98] Panitsa, M., & D. Tzanoudakis. 1998. Contribution to the study of the Greek flora: flora and vegetation of the E Aegean islands Agathonisi and Pharmakonisi. Willdenowia 28: 95–116.

[PL04] Pohl, G., & I. Lenski. 2004. Zur Verbreitung und Vergesellschaftung von Pennisetum orientale Rich. in Nordeuböa (Griechenland) (Poaceae, Paniceae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 83 (2): 209–223.

[R44] Rayment, T. 1944. A critical revision of species in the zonata group of Anthophora by new characters (part I). Dobutu Gaku—Iho 1 (1): 1–33.

[WM09] Wang, H., M. J. Moore, P. S. Soltis, C. D. Bell, S. F. Brockington, R. Alexandre, C. C. Davis, M. Latvis, S. R. Manchester & D. E. Soltis. 2009. Rosid radiation and the rapid rise of angiosperm-dominated forests. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 106 (10): 3853–3858.

[W89] Woolls, W. 1889. Specimens of plants collected at King George’s Sound by the Rev. R. Collie, F.L.S. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 4 (2): 317–324.