Polygalaceae
Polygala

Polygala praetermissa Thulin

First published in Nordic J. Bot. 21: 393 (2001 publ. 2002)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is N. Somalia. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Type
N2, near “Erigavo”, Simmons B59 (EA holo.).
Morphology General Habit
Perennial herb, c. 5–7 cm tall, from a woody rootstock, densely puberulous with minute crisped hairs
Morphology Leaves
Leaves linear-lanceolate, 4–8 x 1–1.6 mm, subacute to rounded at the tip
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes lateral, 1–6-flowered; bracts caducous; pedicels c. 0.8–1.2 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Outer sepals 1.5–2.4 mm long, free; wings oblanceolate, ± falcate, 3.6–4.4 x 1.5–2 mm, medially greenish, with hyaline margins
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla blue or bluish violet; upper petals with free part c. 2–2.5 mm long; keel c. 3.5–4 mm long, crested with a conspicuous fringed appendage
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Young capsule obovate, c. 3.6–4 x 2–2.5 mm, unwinged, emarginate at the apex, puberulous all over
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds (immature), c. 2.8 mm long, densely pubescent; caruncle c. 0.3 x 0.4 mm, with 3 appendages c. 0.8 mm long.
Distribution
N2, 3 not known elsewhere.
Ecology
Altitude range 1500–1750 m.
Note
This is similar to P. bariensis, but has much longer leaves (at least 4 times as long as wide versus scarcely more than twice as long as wide) and unwinged capsules that are puberulous all over.
[FSOM]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0