Polygaloides paucifolia

Polygaloides paucifolia, synonym Polygala paucifolia,^[2] known as gaywings or fringed polygala, is a perennial plant of the family Polygalaceae.

Gaywings
At the Botanical Gardens at Asheville
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Polygalaceae
Genus:	Polygaloides
Species:	P. paucifolia
Binomial name
Polygaloides paucifolia (Willd.) J.R.Abbott[1]
Synonyms[2]
Polygala commutata Sweet Polygala paucifolia Willd. Polygala purpurea W.T.Aiton Polygala uniflora Michx. Trichlisperma grandiflorum Raf. Trichlisperma paucifolium (Willd.) Nieuwl. Triclisperma grandiflora Raf. Triclisperma paucifolia (Willd.) Nieuwl.

Fringed milkwort flower in New York

Description

Mature plants are 3 to 6 inches tall.^[3] Stems are smooth, slender and green. Leaves are clustered at the top, appearing to be whorled, but they are not. Leaflets are oblong to lanceolate—narrow at the base with a pointed tip. Leaves have an entire margin and are thin.

Flowers are pink and white, blooming in April and May.^[3] It grows in rich, moist woods.^[4]

Taxonomy

The species was first described, as Polygala paucifolia, by Carl Ludwig Willdenow in 1802. In 2011, John Richard Abbott divided up part of the genus Polygala into more sharply defined genera. He placed P. paucifolia in Polygaloides as Polygaloides paucifolia.^[5]

Gaywings on Mackinac Island, Michigan