Family

Milkwort.

Colour

Rose lavender, white or greenish.

Odour

Scentless,

Range

New England south to N. Carolina and westward.

Time of Bloom

Summer.

Flowers: growing in a dense oblong head, or spike. Calyx: of five unequal sepals, the two inner ones being larger than, and coloured like, the petals. Corolla: of three united petals, the lower one shaped like a keel. Stamens: six, or more. Pistil: one. Leaves', numerous; alternate; linear. Stem: four to eight inches high; upright; leafy; branched.

An odd little flower that we all know in the moist meadows and by the roadsides, but which few of us can call by name. Purple polygala seems such a pretentious title for so fragile a blossom. Eye-spy would suit it better as it is always peeping out from unexpected places.