Polygala nana: Difference between revisions

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==Description==
==Description==
Candyroot grows as a clumping herbaceous plant {{convert|10-15|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall,<ref name="NPIN">{{cite web|url=http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PONA2|title=Polygala nana|author=Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center|date=2015|work=NPIN: Native Plant Database|publisher=University of Texas at Austin|accessdate=18 July 2015|location=Austin, TX}}</ref> more commonly {{convert|5-10|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall. Growing from the base of the plant are the spathulate (spoon-shaped) leaves, which are {{convert|1.5-5|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|0.4-2|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} cm wide. The yellow flowerheads are composed of tiny flowers arranged in racemes, and are {{convert|2-4|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} high by {{convert|1.5|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} wide.<ref name=godfrey>{{cite book|last=Godfrey, Robert K.; Wooten, Jean W. |title=Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States: Dicotyledons|publisher=University of Georgia Press|date=2011|page=275|isbn=9780820342436|url=https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Gz0iVFmZR7YC&pg=PA275}}</ref>
Candyroot grows as a clumping herbaceous plant {{convert|10-15|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall,<ref name="NPIN">{{cite web|url=http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PONA2|title=Polygala nana|author=Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center|date=2015|work=NPIN: Native Plant Database|publisher=University of Texas at Austin|accessdate=18 July 2015|location=Austin, TX}}</ref> more commonly {{convert|5-10|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall. Growing from the base of the plant are the spathulate (spoon-shaped) leaves, which are {{convert|1.5-5|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|0.4-2|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} cm wide. The yellow flowerheads are composed of tiny flowers arranged in racemes, and are {{convert|2-4|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} high by {{convert|1.5|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} wide.<ref name=godfrey>{{cite book|last=Godfrey, Robert K.; Wooten, Jean W. |title=Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States: Dicotyledons|publisher=University of Georgia Press|date=2011|page=275|isbn=9780820342436|url=https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Gz0iVFmZR7YC&pg=PA275}}</ref>
They appear from April to June,<ref name="NPIN"/> though is March to October in Alabama,<ref>{{cite book|last=Blanche E. Dean, Amy Mason, Joab L. Thomas|title=Wildflowers of Alabama and Adjoining States|publisher=University of Alabama Press|year=1983|page=94|isbn=9780817301477|url=https://books.google.com.au/books?id=E1fzaN_YJEoC&pg=PA94}}</ref> and year-round in the [[Everglades]]. The seeds are smaller than 1 mm in size. The edible root tastes of [[liquorice|licorice]].<ref name="Hammer">{{cite book|last=Hammer|first=Roger L.|title=Everglades Wildflowers: A Field Guide to Wildflowers of the Historic Everglades, including Big Cypress, Corkscrew, and Fakahatchee Swamps|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2015|page=143|isbn=9781493014590|url=https://books.google.com.au/books?id=-S0aBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA143}}</ref>
They appear from April to June,<ref name="NPIN"/> from March to October in Alabama,<ref>{{cite book|last=Blanche E. Dean, Amy Mason, Joab L. Thomas|title=Wildflowers of Alabama and Adjoining States|publisher=University of Alabama Press|year=1983|page=94|isbn=9780817301477|url=https://books.google.com.au/books?id=E1fzaN_YJEoC&pg=PA94}}</ref> and year-round in the [[Everglades]]. The seeds are smaller than 1 mm in size. The edible root tastes of [[liquorice|licorice]].<ref name="Hammer">{{cite book|last=Hammer|first=Roger L.|title=Everglades Wildflowers: A Field Guide to Wildflowers of the Historic Everglades, including Big Cypress, Corkscrew, and Fakahatchee Swamps|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2015|page=143|isbn=9781493014590|url=https://books.google.com.au/books?id=-S0aBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA143}}</ref>


''Polygala nana'' resembles ''[[Polygala lutea]]'', which is a taller plant.<ref name=godfrey/> It also resembles the rare species ''[[Polygala smallii|P. smallii]]'' of Miami-Dade County, which has seeds longer than 1 mm.<ref name="Hammer"/>
''Polygala nana'' resembles ''[[Polygala lutea]]'', which is a taller plant.<ref name=godfrey/> It also resembles the rare species ''[[Polygala smallii|P. smallii]]'' of Miami-Dade County, which has seeds longer than 1 mm.<ref name="Hammer"/>

Revision as of 13:24, 27 July 2015

Polygala nana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Fabales
Family:
Polygalaceae
Genus:
Polygala
Species:
P. nana
Binomial name
Polygala nana
Synonyms

Polygala lutea var. nana Michx.
Pylostachya nana (Michx.)
Psilotaxis nana (Michx.) `Raf.

Polygala nana, commonly known as candyroot or low batchelors' buttons, is a very small herbaceous plant native to the southeastern United States. Its root has a sweet liquorice flavor when it is chewed. It's usually hidden underneath the ground until it flowers. The seeds are dispersed by ants.

Taxonomy

French botanist André Michaux described candyroot as a variety of Polygala lutea in 1803.[1] Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle reclassified it as a species in 1824.[2] The species name is the Latin word nanus "dwarf".

Description

Candyroot grows as a clumping herbaceous plant 10–15 cm (4–6 in) tall,[3] more commonly 5–10 cm (2–4 in) tall. Growing from the base of the plant are the spathulate (spoon-shaped) leaves, which are 1.5–5 cm (1⁄2–2 in) long and 0.4–2 cm (1⁄4–3⁄4 in) cm wide. The yellow flowerheads are composed of tiny flowers arranged in racemes, and are 2–4 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄2 in) high by 1.5 cm (1⁄2 in) wide.[4] They appear from April to June,[3] from March to October in Alabama,[5] and year-round in the Everglades. The seeds are smaller than 1 mm in size. The edible root tastes of licorice.[6]

Polygala nana resembles Polygala lutea, which is a taller plant.[4] It also resembles the rare species P. smallii of Miami-Dade County, which has seeds longer than 1 mm.[6]

Distribution and habitat

Polygala nana is found across the southeastern United States from Texas through Louisiana and Arkansas to Florida and north though Georgia and South Carolina to North Carolina.[7] Arkansas, where it is found in Ashley, Bradley and Calhoun Counties, marks the northwestern limits of its range.[8] It grows in moist soil in meadows or coniferous woodlands.[3]

References

  1. ^ Michaux, Andreas (1803). Flora boreali-americana :sistens caracteres plantarum quas in America septentrionali collegit et detexit Andreas Michaux. Vol. 2. Paris, France: Levrault brothers. p. 54.
  2. ^ De Candolle, Augustin Pyramus (1824). Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis. Vol. 1. Paris, France: Treuttel et Würtz. p. 328.
  3. ^ a b c Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (2015). "Polygala nana". NPIN: Native Plant Database. Austin, TX: University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  4. ^ a b Godfrey, Robert K.; Wooten, Jean W. (2011). Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States: Dicotyledons. University of Georgia Press. p. 275. ISBN 9780820342436.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Blanche E. Dean, Amy Mason, Joab L. Thomas (1983). Wildflowers of Alabama and Adjoining States. University of Alabama Press. p. 94. ISBN 9780817301477.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b Hammer, Roger L. (2015). Everglades Wildflowers: A Field Guide to Wildflowers of the Historic Everglades, including Big Cypress, Corkscrew, and Fakahatchee Swamps. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 143. ISBN 9781493014590.
  7. ^ Natural Resources Conservation Service (2015). "Polygala nana (Michx.) DC. Show All candyroot". Plants Database. USDA. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  8. ^ Hunter, Carl G. (2000). Wildflowers of Arkansas. University of Arkansas Press. p. 126. ISBN 9780912456164.
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