Wildflower - Fringed Polygala

I was doing some work at the edge of the woods on our cabin property and found a couple of patches of Fringed Polygala (Polygala paucifolia) This native wildflower also goes by the names Bird-on-the-Wing, Flowering Wintergreen, Fringed Milkwort, Gay Wings and Gaywings. The bright magenta or pink-purple Fringed Polygala is one of our more curious-looking local wildflowers.



This small, 1 to 1.5 inch, strangely shaped flower might fool someone into thinking that this is a member of the orchid family, but is part of the Milkwort family.



There are three petals. Two of them are outstretched, like wings. The third forms a sort of cylinder around the stamens.



Fringed polygala often grows in large colonies and particularly favors mossy sites.



The Fringed Polygala is an endangered species in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio.