Senega alba, commonly called white milkwort, is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family.
Description It is an erect perennial, reaching tall. It produces small white flowers, distributed in an elongated raceme. It flowers in late spring and early summer.
Taxonomy This species was first named Polygala alba, placing it in the Polygala genus by Thomas Nuttall in 1818. It was suggested that it be moved to Asemeia by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1838, but its accepted name was published in 2023 by José Floriano Barêa Pastore and J. Richard Abbott when they placed it in Senega. Together with its genus it is classified in the Polygalaceae family and it has 15 synonyms.
Table of Synonyms Name Year Rank Notes Asemeia alba 1838 species ≡ hom. Asemeia leptopsis 1838 species = het. Polygala alba 1818 species ≡ hom. Polygala alba var. brachystachya 1893 variety = het. Polygala alba var. leptostachya 1893 variety = het. Polygala alba var. mexicana 1893 variety = het. Polygala alba var. schaffneri 1893 variety = het. Polygala alba var. suspecta 1886 variety = het. Polygala alba var. tenuifolia 1916 variety = het. Polygala beyrichii 1838 species = het. Polygala hemipterocarpa var. bracteata 1893 variety = het. Polygala jamesii 1832 species = het., nom. illeg. superfl. Polygala scoparia 1839 species = het., nom. illeg. homonym. post. Polygala senega var. tenuifolia 1813 variety = het. Polygala torreyi 1831 species = het. Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym; = heterotypic synonym
Distribution It is native to North America, where it is found in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.Polygala alba Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Societey In the United States, its range is concentrated in the Great Plains and the Southwest. Its natural habitat is in rocky or sandy dry prairies.White Milkwort Polyagala alba Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses
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