Polygala senega L.

Seneca snakeroot (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Fabales > Polygalaceae > Polygala

Characteristics

Perennial; stems mostly clustered, 1–5 dm, usually unbranched, minutely puberulent; lvs alternate, the lowest reduced or scale-like, the others lance-linear or wider, 3–8 cm × 3–30 mm; racemes dense, 1.5–4 cm × 5–8 mm, the peduncle 1–3 cm; fls white; wings broadly elliptic, 3–3.5 mm, exceeding the cor; fr suborbicular; seeds hairy, 2–3 mm, the aril nearly or quite as long. Dry or moist woods and prairies, often in calcareous soil; N.B. to Alta., s. to Ga. and Ark. May, June.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.3
Mature height (meter) 0.3
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Rocky hills and woods on dry and mainly calcareous soils.
Light 4-9
Soil humidity 1-6
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 3-9
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 2-6

Usage

Uses medicinal poison
Edible -
Therapeutic use Gastrointestinal Aid (leaf), Throat Aid (leaf), Respiratory Aid (root), Cathartic (root), Expectorant (root), Kidney Aid (root), Snake Bite Remedy (root), Anticonvulsive (root), Heart Medicine (root), Hemostat (root), Stimulant (root), Tonic (root), Unspecified (root), Oral Aid (root), Panacea (root), Throat Aid (root), Toothache (root), Cold Remedy (root), Cough Medicine (root), Abortifacient (unspecified), Antirheumatic (Internal) (unspecified), Cold Remedy (unspecified), Diaphoretic (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Other (unspecified), Pulmonary Aid (unspecified), Blood Medicine (unspecified), Unspecified (unspecified), Asthma (unspecified), Bite(Snake) (unspecified), Emetic (unspecified), Expectorant (unspecified), Gout (unspecified), Hivess (unspecified), Medicine (unspecified), Pleurisy (unspecified), Poison (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified), Sudorific (unspecified), Alterative (unspecified), Bronchitis (unspecified), Cancer (unspecified), Tonic (unspecified), Antifungal agents (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) 30 - 60
Germination temperacture (C°) 15 - 18
Germination luminosity light
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Polygala senega unspecified picture
Polygala senega unspecified picture

Distribution

Polygala senega world distribution map, present in Canada and United States of America

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:283498-2
WFO ID wfo-0000488852
COL ID 6W3ZB
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Polygala senega Polygala albida Senega officinalis Polygala senega var. senega

Lower taxons

Polygala senega var. latifolia