MILKWORT  , in

botany, the common name for plants of the genus Polygala (natural order Polygalaceae), a large genus widely dispersed in temperate and tropical regions and represented by a few species in Britain . The common species, P. vulgaris, is a small wiry perennial found on heaths and in meadows through-out the British Isles . The stems are 2 to Io in. long and bear narrow rather tough leaves and small, i to s in. long, white, pink, blue, lilac or purple flowers . The flowers (see fig.) are peculiar in form and arrangement of parts; they have five free sepals the two inner of which (b) are large petaloid and winglike, forming the most conspicuous part of the flower; the petals are united below with the sheath of the eight stamens forming a tube split at the base behind; their form recalls that of the pea family . The name Polygala is from the Greek 7roXus, much and yltka, milk, the plant being supposed to increase the yield of milk in cows . Some species with showy flowers are known in cultivation as greenhouse, or hardy ennual or perennial, herbs or shrubs . The root of P . Senega, snake-root, a North American species is officinal . Sea milkwort is the common name for Glaux maritima, a small succulent herb found on seashores and in estuaries in the British Isles; it belongs to the primrose order (Primulaceae) . After Berg & Schmidt, from Strasburger's Lehrbuch der Botanik, by permission of Gustav Fischer . Polygala Senega . A, Flower; a, small sepals; b, large sepals; c, keel, representing the anterior petal; d, its fimbriated edge; e, lateral petals .

B, The 8 stamens united into a sheath below; h, anthers (magnified) .