CHALK MILKWORT

Polygala calcarea

Milkwort Family [Polygalaceae]

month8apr month8april month8may month8jun month8june

status
statusZnative
 
flower
flower8blue
 
flower
flower8azure
 
flower
flower8pink
 
flower
flower8white
 
inner
inner8white
 
morph
morph8zygo
 
petals
petalsZ3
looks-like 5
type
typeZspiked
 
stem
stem8round
 
rarity
rarityZuncommon
 
sex
sexZbisexual
 

unknown date, South Eastern Coast, England Photo: © Dawn Nelson
TYou can make out some horizontal stems radiating out from one of the plants just north of dead-centre of the photo. The flowers are usually blue; only rarely being either pink or white.


unknown date, South Eastern Coast, England Photo: © Dawn Nelson
The stalks are in 3 'parts', a leafless and woody stem followed by a leafy section followed by a much longer stem with flowers branching off nearer the top. It lays flattish along the ground until after the leaves whereupon it rises up like a phoenix. The flowers on the main stem sum up to between 6 and 20 and are between 3 and 6mm long. The inner sepals are just short of the tip of the corolla. The inner sepals are 3/4 ths as wide as the fruit capsule.


unknown date, South Eastern Coast, England Photo: © Dawn Nelson
The leaves are oval tapering to the stem and are just right of dead-centre and maybe a quarter way up? the stem.


No relation to : Sea Milkwort (Glaux maritima), Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum), Purple Milk Vetch (Astragalus danicus), Lesser Milk-vetch (Astragalus odoratus), Alpine Milk-vetch (Astragalus alpinus), Milky Bellflower (Campanula lactiflora), Milk-parsley (Thyselium palustre), Cambridge Milk-parsley (Selinum carvifolia) [plants with similar names belonging to differing families].

Hybridizes with :

  • Common Milkwort (Polygala vulgaris) to produce Polygala vulgaris × Polygala calcarea forming either sterile triploids or fertile tetraploids which are found scattered in South Eastern England.

Many similarities to : other Milkworts (Polygala species)



  Polygala calcarea  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Polygalaceae  

Distribution
 family8Milkwort family8Polygalaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Polygala
Polygala
(Milkworts)

CHALK MILKWORT

Polygala calcarea

Milkwort Family [Polygalaceae]