Polygalaceae
Polygala

Polygala erlangeri Gürke ex Chodat

First published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 48: 313 (1912)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is SE. Ethiopia to NE. Kenya. It is a subshrub and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Shrublet or woody-based perennial herb, 5–40 cm tall, vegetative parts pubescent with short usually strongly curved hairs
Morphology Leaves
Leaves oblong-elliptic to oblanceolate, 4–17(–24) x 2–6.5(–9) mm, cuneate at the base, rounded to emarginate at the apex
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes lateral, up to 1.5 mm long, 1–3(–4)-flowered; bracts persistent; pedicels c. 1.5 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Outer sepals 1.5–2.5 mm long, free; wings oblanceolate-elliptic, ± curved, 5–6 x 2.2–2.8 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Upper petals 2.5 mm long; keel with pink or purple tip, 3.5–5 mm long, with a fringed apical appendage
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule obovate, 5–6 x 3–3.3 mm, narrowly winged, glabrous except for puberulous margin
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds 3–4 mm long, densely hairy; caruncle 0.6–0.8 mm high, with 3 appendages c. 1–1.6 mm long.
Distribution
C1, 2; S1; E Ethiopia, NE Kenya
Ecology
Altitude range 130–340 m.
[FSOM]

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: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

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