Polygala oppositifolia Thunb. var. cordifolia
Half hardy evergreen shrub with opposite, heart-shaped leaves and terminal racemes of purple flowers with a yellowish-green keel, in spring. To 1m. The leaves of cordifolia are larger and more heart-shaped than the type. [RHSD].
Horticultural & Botanical History
Curtis’s Botanical Magazine figures Polygala oppositifolia [BM t.492/1800] and Polygala cordifolia, saying of the latter: ‘It differs from oppositifolia by the erect, not reflexed leaves, by the flowers being larger and more collected together. The intensity of colour in this and the related species varies, especially according to the degree of light they are exposed to.’ [BM t.2438/1823].
‘This is a native of the Cape of good hope, introduced in 1791. It is a greenhouse plant, of slender growth, and producing its beautiful flowers in the beginning of summer.’ [LBC no.1189/1827]. ‘Among these [the Polygalas] are some of the gayest and most useful inmates of our greenhouses’. [Gard. Chron. 1855]. Don.
History at Camden Park
Listed in all published catalogues [T.771/1843].
Notes
Polygala cordifolia C.Presl. (1830) is a Peruvian species.
Published Mar 22, 2009 - 04:46 PM | Last updated Mar 24, 2010 - 03:27 PM
Polygala oppositifolia Thunb. var. cordifolia | BM t.2438/1823 | BHL
| Family | Polygalaceae |
|---|---|
| Category | |
| Region of origin | South Africa |
| Synonyms |
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| Common Name | |
| Name in the Camden Park Record | Polygala cordifolia |
| Confidence level | high |