Seneca Snakeroot

(Polygala senega)

 

   

 

 

Color Photograph: Paul Jackson, Cedar Creek Natural History Area, LTER, U.S. Dept. Energy and National Science Foundation.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Seneca Snakeroot (Polygala senega L.)

Identification: Flowers white, pealike, with one petal with an apical fringe. Flowers arranged loosely in a long apical spike. Leaves elongate, slightly ovate, alternate, and closely crowded along the stem. Plant 6 to 18 inches in height.

Distribution: Alberta in the west to New Brunswick in the east, southward to Georgia and Arkansas.

Habitat: Seneca Snakeroot is typically found in rocky woods.

Flowering period: May to July.

Similar Species: The loosely clustered, white flowers are usually distinctive. The flower heads of Whorled Milkweed are conical and the leaves are in whorls, not alternate on the stem.

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