Polygala trichosperma L.

Polygala variabilis H.B.K. Nov Gen. &Sp. 5: 397. 1823.
Polygala Nelsonii Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 122. 1906. Polygala variabilis typica Blake, Contr. Gray Herb. 47: 96. 1916. Polygala variabilis leucanthema Blake, Contr. Gray Herb. 47: 96. 1916.
Slender erect annual, sparsely branched, 1.7-6 dm. high, the stem obscurely pedicellateglandular especially below; leaves alternate, linear, 3.5-9 mm. long, 0.4-0.7 mm. wide, cuspidulate, revolute; racemes conic-capitate, rather dense, 3-7 mm. long, 7 mm. thick, the axis becoming 1.5-7 cm. long; pedicels 0.6-0.8 mm. long; flowers purplish or white; sepals ovate, rounded to obtuse, 1-1.9 mm. long; wings elliptic, 2.7-3.6 mm. long, 1.4-2.1 mm. wide, rounded or rarely bluntly mucronulate, cuneate at base, 3-nerved; keel 2.7-3.6 mm. long, the crest on each side of 3-4 entire or forked lobes; capsule ovate-oblong, 2.6-3.2 mm. long, 1.2-1.3 mm. wide; seed obconic, silky-comose, 2.7 mm. long (including coma); aril 2-lobed, 0.5 mm. high, appressed.
Type locality: Near Maypures, Colombia. Distribution: Veracruz to Honduras; also in South America.