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(Last Modified On 4/2/2013)
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(Last Modified On 4/2/2013)
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Genus
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Polygala L.
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PlaceOfPublication
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Sp. P1. 701, 1753.
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Description
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Shrubs, subshrubs, or commonly herbs in Panama. Leaves alternate, some- times opposite or verticillate, simple, short-petioled or sessile. Racemes terminal or lateral, sometimes contracted into heads. Flowers often showy; sepals 5, un- equal, the outer 3 herbaceous, free or sometimes 2 connate basally, the inner 2
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Habit
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Shrubs
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Description
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large, petaloid, wing-like; petals 3, connate basally, the lower keel-shaped, crested, lobed, or occasionally unappendaged, the 2 upper ligulate to ovate, connate to the keel or adnate to the staminal sheath or both; stamens 8, the filaments connate nearly to the apex into a sheath split above and adnate to the petals below; ovary 2-locular, the ovules solitary, the style incurved, the stigma dilated, entire to 2- lobed, often tufted. Capsules usually membranous, compressed, obovate to orbi- cular, generally wingless, loculicidally dehiscent; seeds usually 2, often pilose, mostly arillate, with or without endosperm.
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Distribution
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A genus of perhaps 500 species, ? cosmopolitan; 13 are recognized in Panama.
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Key
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a. Leaves alternate (those of the basal 1/4 of plant usually verticillate or subverti- cillate). b. Leaves linear-lanceolate to elliptic or ovate, 2-35 mm wide; keel withoift ap- pendages. c. Annual; leaves linear to linear-lanceolate, sometimes elliptic, 1-4.5 cm long, 2-9 mm wide; outer sepals oblong-ovate, obtuse, usually glandular-ciliate on the margin, the larger one 1.8-2.2 mm long, the smaller 2 almost en- tirely connate, 1.5-1.9 mm long; capsule oblong-ellipsoid, 2.9-3.5 mm long, glabrous; seeds 1.9-2.5 mm long; aril corneous, crest-like, with 2 short appendages, 0.6-0.8 mm long, glabrous ................ 1. P. brizoides cc. Suffruticulose; leaves elliptic to ovate, 2.5-8 cm long, 1-3.5 cm wide; outer sepals lanceolate, acute or acuminate, spreading pilose, usually all 3 ca the same size, 3-5 mm long; capsule ovoid to orbicular, 7.5-11 mm long, spreading pilose; seeds 3.5-5 mm long; aril thin, umbraculiform, without appendages, 2.5-4 mm long, somewhat pilose ........ 2. P. panamensis bb. Leaves narrowly linear or linear-lanceolate, 0.2-3.5 mm wide; keel with appendages. d. Racemes elongate, loosely flowered, to 8 cm long. e. Flowers white; seeds ca 1 mm long, with a few weakly hook-tipped hairs; aril obsolete; rare ................... 3. P. fendleri var. heterothrix ce. Flowers rose to purplish, rarely white; seeds 1-1.8 mm long, with all hairs straight; aril present. f. Stems glabrous; seeds 1-1.3 mm long; aril barely 2-lobed, ca 1/10 as long as the seed; occasiona,l ................ 4. P. leptocaulis ff. Stems densely pedicillate-glandular; seeds 1.4-1.8 mm long; aril strongly 2-lobed, ?/4-?/2 as long as the seed; very common...... ............................................ .5. P. paniculata dd. Racemes compact, densely flowered, to 2.6 cm long. g. Keel not gland-dotted; capsule suborbicular; seeds ellipsoid, sparsely short-pubescent, the 2 lobes of the aril 0.9-1.6 mm long.... 6. P. hygrophila gg. Keel gland-dotted apically and basally; capsule ovoid-oblong; seeds conical, sericeous, comose basally, the 2 lobes of the aril 0.5 mm long to absent. h. Wings strongly cuspidate apically; seeds 1.8-2.5 mm long (in- cluding coma); aril minute or absent; frequent ........ 7. P. longicaulis hh. Wings not or rarely bluntly mucronate apically; seeds 2.5-2.7 mm long (including coma); aril 2-lobed, 0.5 mm long; rare .......................................... 8. P. variabilis aa. Leaves all verticillate (rarely alternate in apical 1/4 of P. timoutou). i. Mostly delicate herbs to 0.3 m tall; leaves 4-21 mm long, 2.7-8 mm wide; seeds 1-1.8 mm long, lobes of the aril narrowly oblong, 0.9-1.6 mm long. j. Racemes compact, very densely flowered, 8-11 mm wide; sepals acumin- ate apically, 1.5-2.4 mm long; wing much larger than the keel, mucro- nate at the rounded apex, 3-4.6 mm long, 1.8-3.2 mm wide......... ................................................... 9. P. timoutou This content downloaded from 192.104.39.2 on Tue, 2 Apr 2013 14:24:52 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions1969] FLORA OF PANAMA (Family 96. Polygalaceae) 11 jj. Racemes loose or somewhat densely flowered, 4-6 mm wide; sepals ob- tuse apically (the lower 2 often somewhat acute in P. aparinoides), 0.7-2 mm long; wings ca the same length as the keel, not mucronate at the rounded apex, 1.6-2 mm long, 1-1.2 mm wide. k. Margin of leaves denticulate; seeds often equaled by the 2 narrowly oblong lobes of the aril ......................... 10. P. aparinoides kk. Margin of leaves entire or rarely remotely crenate; lobes of the aril ca half the length of the seed ...................... 11. P. asperuloides ii. Suffrutescent perennials to 2 m tall; leaves 4-7.5 cm long, 1.8-3 cm wide; seeds 4 mm long, lobes of the aril wide, 2.5-3 mm long. 1. Leaves apically acute, sparingly punctate; sepals without glands; aril lobes broadly obovate . ............................. 12. P. wurdackiana 11. Leaves apically acuminate, densely punctate; smaller pair of sepals each with 2 large glands; aril lobes oblong ........... .......... 13. P. jefensis
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