Family of flowering plants
ThePolygalaceae or themilkwort family are made up offlowering plants in the orderFabales . They have anear-cosmopolitan range , with about 27 genera andca . 900 knownspecies [ 2] herbs ,shrubs andtrees . Over half of the species are in one genus,Polygala milkworts .
The family was first described in 1809 byJohann Hoffmansegg andJohann Link .[ 3] Robert Chodat split it into three tribes. A fourth tribe was split off from the tribePolygaleae in 1992.[ 4] Cronquist classification system, Polygalaceae were treated in a separate order of their own, Polygalales. Currently, according to theAngiosperm Phylogeny Group , the family belongs in Fabales.
Polygalaceae areannual orperennial herbs, shrubs, trees orlianas .[ 5] zygomorphic ,hermaphrodite ,bisexual flowers have three to five petals and fivesepals .[ 6] [ 7] alternate , but may beopposite ,fascicled , orverticillate .[ 6] stamens , though this may range from three to ten. They are usually in two series.[ 7] fruits of each plant can be acapsule ,samara , ordrupe .[ 6]
The Polygalaceae comprise the following genera,[ 6] [ 8] [ 9] [ 10] [ 11] [ 12] [ 13]
CarpolobieaeEriksen MoutabeaeChodat PolygaleaeChodat XanthophylleaeChodat Tribe not assigned Modernmolecular phylogenetics suggest the following relationships:[ 13] [ 14] [ 15] [ 16] [ 17] [ 18]
^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009)."An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III" (PDF) .Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society .161 (2):105– 121.doi :10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x hdl :10654/18083 . Retrieved2013-07-06 . ^ Christenhusz, M. J. M. & Byng, J. W. (2016)."The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase" .Phytotaxa .261 (3):201– 217.Bibcode :2016Phytx.261..201C .doi :10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1 ^ Harvard University; Royal Botanic Gardens Kew; Australian National Herbarium."Polygalaceae" .International Plant Names Index . RetrievedJuly 16, 2020 . ^ Eriksen, Bente (1993). "Phylogeny of the Polygalaceae and its taxonomic implications".Plant Systematics and Evolution .186 (1/2):33– 55.Bibcode :1993PSyEv.186...33E .doi :10.1007/BF00937712 .ISSN 0378-2697 .JSTOR 23674643 .S2CID 32590790 . ^ Messina, Andre (2022). Kodela, P.G. (ed.)."Polygalaceae Hoffmanns. & Link" .Flora of Australia Australian Biological Resources Study , Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved15 April 2024 . ^a b c d "Polygalaceae Hoffmanns. & Link" .Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved22 October 2025 .^a b "Polygalaceae" .Flora of Victoria . Government of Victoria, Australia. RetrievedJuly 16, 2020 .^ Abbott JR. (2011). "Notes on the disintegration ofPolygala (Polygalaceae), with four new genera for the flora of North America".Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas .5 (1):125– 137.JSTOR 41972495 . ^ Pastore JFB. (2012). "Caamembeca : Generic status and new name forPolygala subgenusLigustrina (Polygalaceae)".Kew Bull 67 (3):435– 442.Bibcode :2012KewBu..67..435P .doi :10.1007/s12225-012-9360-x .S2CID 19252598 . ^ Pastore JF, Rodrigues de Moraes PL (2013)."Generic status and lectotypifications forGymnospora (Polygalaceae)" .Novon 22 (3):304– 306.Bibcode :2013Novon..22..304P .doi :10.3417/2010113 .S2CID 85269764 . ^ Abbott JR, Pastore JF (2015). "Preliminary synopsis of the genusHebecarpa (Polygalaceae)".Kew Bull 70 (3): 39.Bibcode :2015KewBu..70...39A .doi :10.1007/s12225-015-9589-2 .S2CID 22601207 . ^ Freire-Fierro A. (2015).Systematics of Monnina (Polygalaceae) the original on 2017-03-19. Retrieved2017-03-19 . ^a b Pastore JF, Abbott JR, Neubig KM, Whitten WM, Mascarenhas RB, Almeida Mota MC, van den Berg C (2017). "A molecular phylogeny and taxonomic notes inCaamembeca (Polygalaceae)".Syst Bot 42 (1):54– 62.Bibcode :2017SysBo..42...54P .doi :10.1600/036364417X694935 .S2CID 90353852 . ^ Persson C. (2001). "Phylogenetic relationships in Polygalaceae based on plastid DNA sequences from thetrnL –F region".Taxon 50 (3 (Golden Jubilee Part 5)):763– 779.Bibcode :2001Taxon..50..763P .doi :10.2307/1223706 .JSTOR 1223706 . ^ Forest F, Chase MW, Persson C, Crane PR, Hawkins JA (2007). "The role of biotic and abiotic factors in evolution of ant dispersal in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae)".Evolution 61 (7):1675– 1694.doi :10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00138.x .PMID 17598748 .S2CID 37523521 . ^ Bello MA, Bruneau A, Forest F, Hawkins JA (2009). "Elusive relationships within order Fabales: Phylogenetic analyses usingmatK andrbcL sequence data".Syst Bot 34 (1):102– 114.Bibcode :2009SysBo..34..102B .doi :10.1600/036364409787602348 .S2CID 85655712 . ^ Abbott JR. (2009). Badiera (PDF) (Ph.D.). University of Florida. ^ Mennes CB, Moerland MS, Rath M, Smets EF, Merckx VS (2015)."Evolution of mycoheterotrophy in Polygalaceae: The case ofEpirixanthes " .Am J Bot 102 (4):598– 608.doi :10.3732/ajb.1400549 PMID 25878092 .
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