Asemeia grandiflora

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

Asemeia grandiflora
The inflorescence of a showy milkwort with two fully open flowers towards the base and ten buds higher up the stem. The open flowers have very light pink, almost white, petals with darker nectar lines on the two petals to the sides and two much darker lobes towards the front of the flower.
In Orange County, Florida
Secure
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Polygalaceae
Genus: Asemeia
Species:
A. grandiflora
Binomial name
Asemeia grandiflora
Synonyms[2]
  • Polygala grandiflora

Asemeia grandiflora, commonly known as showy milkwort, is a species of perennial flower found in North America.[3][4] Previously known as Polygala grandiflora, the name of this species was changed to the currently-used Asemeia grandiflora in 2012.[5]

Description

[edit]

A. grandiflora is an herb that reaches between 25 and 50 cm (9.8 and 19.7 in) in height. The species' leaves are alternately arranged and oblanceolate to linear-oblanceolate in shape, reaching a length between 1.5 and 5 cm (0.6 and 2.0 in) and a width between 2 and 17 mm (0.08 and 0.67 in). They are pubescent underneath, most notably on the veins.[6]

The racemes range in length from 5 to 17 cm (2.0 to 6.7 in). The wings either side of the flower are pink in color and 5 to 17 mm (0.20 to 0.67 in) in length. The flower itself is similar in color but smaller in size. A. grandiflora's sepals are 1.5 to 2 mm (0.06 to 0.08 in) in length and green in color. The seeds are approximately 2 mm (0.08 in) long and black in color.[6] A. grandiflora tends to bloom during the summer months and fruits shortly thereafter.[7]

Taxonomy

[edit]

Asemeia grandiflora was scientifically named Polygala grandiflora by the botanist Thomas Walter in 1788. It was moved to the genus Asemeia by John Kunkel Small in 1933, giving the species its accepted name.[2] At the time this move was not widely accepted by botanists, but genetic research in the 2000s showed that Asemeia to be a distinct group and the name was revived in a paper in 2012.[5] Asemeia grandiflora has no accepted varieties, but has 30 synonyms including seven varieties and 22 species names.[2]

Table of Synonyms[2]
Name Year Rank Notes
Asemeia carnea Raf. 1838 species = het.
Asemeia cumulicola (Small) Small 1933 species = het.
Asemeia leiodes (S.F.Blake) Small 1933 species = het.
Asemeia miamiensis (Small) Small 1933 species = het.
Asemeia rosea (Michx.) Raf. 1838 species = het., nom. superfl.
Badiera berteroana Spreng. 1826 species = het.
Polygala ambigens S.F.Blake 1923 species = het.
Polygala americana Seem. 1856 species = het., nom. illeg.
Polygala bahamensis S.F.Blake 1916 species = het.
Polygala collina Brandegee 1905 species = het.
Polygala corallicola Small 1905 species = het.
Polygala cubensis Chodat 1893 species = het.
Polygala cumulicola Small 1924 species = het.
Polygala domingensis Bertero ex Spreng. 1826 species = het., not validly publ.
Polygala flabellata Shuttlew. ex Chodat 1893 species = het.
Polygala grandiflora Walter 1788 species ≡ hom.
Polygala grandiflora var. angustifolia Torr. & A.Gray 1840 variety = het.
Polygala grandiflora var. canescens Shuttlew. ex A.Gray 1852 variety = het.
Polygala grandiflora subsp. krugii (Chodat) Nauman 1981 subspecies = het.
Polygala grandiflora var. leiodes S.F.Blake 1924 variety = het.
Polygala grandiflora var. leptophylla Chodat 1893 variety = het.
Polygala grandiflora var. orbicularis Chodat 1893 variety = het.
Polygala grandiflora var. pubescens Chodat 1893 variety = het., nom. superfl.
Polygala krugii Chodat 1893 species = het.
Polygala miamiensis Small 1924 species = het.
Polygala muhlenbergii G.Don 1831 species = het.
Polygala pubescens Muhl. ex Nutt. 1818 species = het., nom. illeg.
Polygala senega var. rosea Michx. 1803 variety = het.
Polygala versicolor Willd. ex Steud. 1841 species = het., not validly publ.
Polygala wrightii Chodat 1893 species = het.
Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym; = heterotypic synonym

Distribution and habitat

[edit]

This species is native to the southeastern region of the United States of America. Its range encompasses North Carolina south to Florida and westward to Louisiana.[4]

Within this range it may be found in habitats such as longleaf pine sandhills, savannas, and calcareous glades.[8] They are commonly found in mesic environments and areas with dry, sandy soils.[9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Asemeia grandiflora". NatureServe Explorer. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d "Asemeia grandiflora (Walter) Small". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  3. ^ Weakley, Alan S. (October 20, 2020). Flora of the Southeastern United States. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  4. ^ a b "USDA Plants Database". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  5. ^ a b Pastore, J. F. B.; Abbott, J. R. (2012-10-05). "Taxonomic notes and new combinations for Asemeia (Polygalaceae)". Kew Bulletin. 67 (4): 801–813. Bibcode:2012KewBu..67..801P. doi:10.1007/s12225-012-9397-x. ISSN 0075-5974.
  6. ^ a b Radford, Albert E.; Ahles, Harry E.; Bell, C. Ritchie (December 21, 1968). Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807810873.
  7. ^ "Vascular Plants of North Carolina". auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  8. ^ Deyrup, Mark; Edirisinghe, Jayanthi; Norden, Beth (March 2002). "The diversity and floral hosts of bees at the Archbold Biological Station, Florida (Hymenoptera: Apoidea)". Insecta Mundi. 16 (1–3).
  9. ^ "Asemeia grandiflora (Showy Milkwort) - FSUS". fsus.ncbg.unc.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
Stub icon

This Polygalaceae-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.