Polygala amara

Description

Densely tufted,rosette-forming perennial with erect flowering stems 10-20cm high.Basal leaves elliptic to obovate,stem leaves lanceolate,pointed,1.5-3.5cm long.Racemes terminal only,of eight to twenty-five,blue,purple,pink or white flowers 5-8mm in length,the crests of the keel with fifteen to thirty lobes,late spring to summer.P.a.subsp.brachyptera has slightly smaller flowers with keel crests of only ten to twenty lobes.Eastern central Europe to northern Yugoslavia,in mountain meadows,usually over limestone.For P.a.subsp.amarella,see next species.