Above is a milkwort that was recently spotted at the big hollow prairie for the first time. It is a whorled milkwort, Polygala verticillata probably var. isocycla (thanks, Harry). It grows in single colony on the main prairie at big hollow in a very poor, dry site, which accounts for its especially small size. It differs from the seneca snakeroot, also a Polygala (sp. senega), most markedly by practicing an annual life cycle and, of course, by its whorled leaves. Not surprisingly, whorled milkwort's phenology differs from P. senega, blooming June through July and possibly longer (moisture permitting). Its seeds ripen sequentially, dropping off as they ripen. This makes a one shot harvest and subsequent sowing impossible for the impatient restorationist.
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