North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Polygala lutea

Polygala lutea L.

orange milkwort, bog cheetos, candy-root

Synonym(s): Pylostachya lutea

Image ID: 9432
Image by: Ware, Richard & Teresa
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: POLU
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Polygala lutea
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2017-12-28

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: POLYG
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Polygala
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Polygala
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of 300-400 species, trees, shrubs, and herbs, nearly cosmopolitan in distribution. The circumscription of the genus and its monophyly are uncertain, even after the removal of some elements that are not closely related to the core of Polygala (Abbott 2011).
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Pastore (2013); Smith & Ward (1976)=Z; Haines (2010)=Y; Eriksen & Persson in Kubitzki, Bayer, & Stevens (2007).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: POLYGA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Polygalaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: R. Brown 1814
FAMILY COMMON: Milkwort Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of 17-21 genera and 800-1000 species, trees, shrubs, woody vines, and herbs, nearly cosmopolitan, but most diverse in tropical and subtropical areas.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Abbott (2011); Pastore & Abbott (2012); Miller (1971b); Eriksen & Persson in Kubitzki, Bayer, & Stevens (2007).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO: Erect-ascending biennial/short-lived perennial of wet savannas, ditches, bogs, boggy clearings and other wet areas.
STEMS: Stems simple or few-branched, smooth.
LEAVES: Leaves basal and alternate on stem, spatula-shaped, to 2 1/2 in. long, somewhat succulent and smooth.
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Flowers densely packed into erect, cylindric, terminal racemes; bright orange (drying yellow); about 1/2 in. wide; bilaterally symmetric, with 2 oval pointy-tipped wings (sepals) and 3 joined petals forming a tiny tube with fringed tip.
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 6-12 in.

DURATION: Biennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Bilateral (Zygomorphic)
BLOOM TIME: Feb-Nov

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: Orange flowers

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
			x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Bogs/pocosins, Disturbed, Pine savannas
NATIVE RANGE: eastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: A member of the milkwort family, Polygala lutea is a short-lived perennial that produces head-like clusters of bright orange flowers from spring until fall. Commonly referred to as orange milkwort, candyweed, or, the garden staff’s favorite "bog Cheetos" this species is common found in sandy soils and bogs in the coastal plain, but is rare in the piedmont. Try planting Polygala lutea as a companion to carnivorous species for added interest and color.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 2
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
323	2011-0190	2011-08-18	328	View
1884	1986-1665			View
2216	1986-2035			View
9580	2023-0032	2023-03-29		View

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
328	HORT	2010-05-30	Poythress	View
1080	HORT	2006-09-07	Bryan	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
752	323	44	Heiney	2011-08-18	View
753	323	125	Poythress	2011-08-31	View
754	323	126	Poythress	2011-08-31	View
755	323	44	NCBG staff	2011-10-18	View
2980	1884	64	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
3850	2216	59	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
13492	9580	129	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13510	9580	128	Liloia	2023-03-14	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: POLU
USDA Common Name: Orange Milkwort
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, DE, FL, GA, LA, MD, MS, NC, NJ, NY, PA, SC, VA)
Duration: Biennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACW				FACW				FACW

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Polygala lutea
COMMON NAME: Orange Milkwort, Red-hot-poker
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, G, GW, K1, K2, Pa, RAB, Va, WH3, Z; = Pilostaxis lutea (Linnaeus) Small - S; = Pylostachya lutea (Linnaeus) Small]
PHENOLOGY: Feb-Nov.
HABITAT: Wet savannas, ditches, bogs, other wet areas.
COMMENTS: NY (Long Island), se. PA (Rhoads & Block 2007), and NJ south to s. FL, west to e. LA.
RANGE MAP: Polygala lutea.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Polygalaceae R. Brown 1814 (Milkwort Family)
SUMMARY: A family of 17-21 genera and 800-1000 species, trees, shrubs, woody vines, and herbs, nearly cosmopolitan, but most diverse in tropical and subtropical areas.
REFERENCE: Abbott (2011); Pastore & Abbott (2012); Miller (1971b); Eriksen & Persson in Kubitzki, Bayer, & Stevens (2007).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Polygala L. (Polygala)
SUMMARY: A genus of 300-400 species, trees, shrubs, and herbs, nearly cosmopolitan in distribution. The circumscription of the genus and its monophyly are uncertain, even after the removal of some elements that are not closely related to the core of Polygala (Abbott 2011).
REFERENCE: Pastore (2013); Smith & Ward (1976)=Z; Haines (2010)=Y; Eriksen & Persson in Kubitzki, Bayer, & Stevens (2007).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Polygala lutea in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Polygala lutea in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Polygala lutea in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Polygala lutea in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Polygala lutea in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Polygala lutea

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 9432 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 9432 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 9432 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)