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Senega nana

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Senega nana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Polygalaceae
Genus: Senega
Species:
S. nana
Binomial name
Senega nana
(Michx.) J.F.B.Pastore & J.R.Abbott
Synonyms
List
  • Polygala lutea var. nana Michx.
  • Polygala nana (Michx.) DC.
  • Psilotaxis nana (Michx.) Raf.
  • Pylostachya nana (Michx.) Raf.
  • Polygala hyemalis Raf.
  • Polygala nana var. humillima Chodat
  • Polygala viridescens Walter
  • Pylostachya hyemalis Raf.

Senega nana, commonly known as candyroot or low bachelors' buttons, is a small species of herbaceous plant native to the south-eastern United States. The root has a sweet liquorice flavor when it is chewed, but it is usually hidden underground until the plant flowers. The seeds of candyroot are dispersed by ants.

Taxonomy

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French botanist André Michaux described candyroot as a variety of Polygala lutea in 1803.[1] Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle reclassified it as a species in 1824.[2] The species name is the Latin word nanus "dwarf".

Description

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Candyroot grows as a clumping herbaceous plant 10–15 cm (4–6 in) tall,[3] more commonly 5–10 cm (2–4 in) tall. Growing from the base of the plant are the spathulate (spoon-shaped) leaves, which are 1.5–5 cm (12–2 in) long and 0.4–2 cm (1434 in) cm wide. The yellow flowerheads are composed of tiny flowers arranged in racemes, and are 2–4 cm (341+12 in) high by 1.5 cm (12 in) wide.[4] They appear from April to June,[3] from March to October in Alabama,[5] and year-round in the Everglades. The seeds are smaller than 1 mm in size. The edible root tastes of licorice.[6]

Senega nana resembles Senega lutea, which is a taller plant.[4] It also resembles the rare species P. smallii of Miami-Dade County, which has seeds longer than 1 mm.[6]

Distribution and habitat

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Senega nana is found across the south-eastern United States from far eastern Texas through Louisiana and Arkansas to Florida and north as far as the Carolinas.[7] Arkansas, where it is found in Ashley, Bradley and Calhoun Counties, marks the northwestern limits of its range.[8][9] It grows in moist soil in meadows or coniferous woodlands.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Michaux, Andreas (1803). Flora boreali-americana :sistens caracteres plantarum quas in America septentrionali collegit et detexit Andreas Michaux. Vol. 2. Paris, France: Levrault brothers. p. 54.
  2. ^ De Candolle, Augustin Pyramus (1824). Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis. Vol. 1. Paris, France: Treuttel et Würtz. p. 328.
  3. ^ a b c Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (2015). "Polygala nana". NPIN: Native Plant Database. Austin, TX: University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  4. ^ a b Godfrey, Robert K.; Wooten, Jean W. (2011). Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States: Dicotyledons. University of Georgia Press. p. 275. ISBN 9780820342436.
  5. ^ Blanche E. Dean; Amy Mason; Joab L. Thomas (1983). Wildflowers of Alabama and Adjoining States. University of Alabama Press. p. 94. ISBN 9780817301477.
  6. ^ a b Hammer, Roger L. (2015). Everglades Wildflowers: A Field Guide to Wildflowers of the Historic Everglades, including Big Cypress, Corkscrew, and Fakahatchee Swamps. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 143. ISBN 9781493014590.
  7. ^ Natural Resources Conservation Service (2015). "Polygala nana (Michx.) DC. Show All candyroot". Plants Database. USDA. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  8. ^ Hunter, Carl G. (2000). Wildflowers of Arkansas. University of Arkansas Press. p. 126. ISBN 9780912456164.
  9. ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map