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Loose Milkwort

Senega ambigua

Also listed as Polygala ambigua

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in fields, woodlands, openings. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not scored

Native status unresolved in Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 53%

Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Bloom
June to September

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

County records are not available.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR

Genus host records with ranges including AR · Polygala

  • Phytometra rhodarialisPink-Bordered Yellow
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Polygala

  • Ammospiza leconteiiLeConte's Sparrow
  • Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Polygalaceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Polygala ambigua; Whorled Milkwort

Conservation status

Arkansas rankSNR
Global rankG5T5? [G5?]
AR statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources