Polygalaceae
Polygala

Polygala gawenensis Thulin

First published in Nordic J. Bot. 10: 470 (1990)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Central Somalia. 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

Type
C1, E of “Gawen”, Gillett, Hemming & Watson 22259 (K holo.).
Morphology General Habit
Shrublet up to c. 30 cm high, vegetative parts densely pubescent with short strongly curved hairs
Morphology Leaves
Leaves ±narrowly elliptic-oblong, 15–27 x 5–10 mm, rounded to emarginate at the apex
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes lateral, dense, c. 4–7-flowered; bracts persistent; pedicels 2–2.5 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Outer sepals 2.5–4 mm long, free; wings oblanceolate-elliptic, curved, c. 7.2–8 x 3.2–4 mm, shortly pubescent medially
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Upper petals mauve, free parts c. 5.6 mm long; keel c. 8 mm long, mauve, with a conspicuous fringed appendage at the tip
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule obovate, 5.5–6 x 3.6 mm, narrowly winged and emarginate at the apex, ciliate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds c. 4 mm long, densely hairy; caruncle c. 0.6 x 0.6 mm, with 3 appendages c. 0.6 mm long.
Distribution
C1 not known elsewhere.
Ecology
Altitude range 150–200 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: 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