Photographs: Co. Cork

Common Milkwort Polygala vulgaris Lus an bhainne Family: Polygalaceae Flowering time: May-September. Perennial. Native. Flowers usually bright blue but can be pink or white. Main raceme usually with 10+ flowers. Inner sepals slightly shorter than corolla, well-branched veins. The stalkless oval-elliptical leaves are all alternate, the upper leaves narrowest. Erect or straggling stems, woody at base, to 30cm tall. Heaths, dunes and short grassland on both acidic and calcareous soils Similar: Heath Milkwort, Polygala serpyllifolia. The lower leaves are opposite. Only grows on acidic heaths and grassland

Common Milkwort, Polygala vulgaris, Lus an bhainne