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Polygala virgata
Also called Butterfly Bush, Broom Falsepea, Broom Milkwort, Milkwort
Polygala virgata is an evergreen shrub from southern and eastern Africa, growing 1 to 3 m tall with slender branches and small leaves, and it is grown for its purple flowers. It is often called purple broom or butterfly bush. It has escaped into the wild in parts of Australia and New Zealand, so growing it in the open garden needs some care.
Polygala virgata is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae) native to eastern and southern Africa. Its common names include broom milkwort, milkwort, polygala and purple broom.
In South Africa they occur from Cape Town, through KwaZulu-Natal to Mpumalanga. In the rest of Africa, the tree is native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Chalk milkwort · Chinese Senega Root · Polygala wattersii · Milkwort · Seneca Snakeroot
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Polygala virgata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
