Orange Milkwort

Did you know

• Orange milkwort produces such vivid orange flower clusters that it glows like a flame against the wet, dark peat bogs and savannas it inhabits.
• It is adapted to fire-maintained wet pine savannas — one of the most biodiverse and endangered habitats in North America.
• The name 'milkwort' comes from ancient European belief that the related Polygala vulgaris increased milk production in nursing animals when eaten.
• The dense, clover-like flower heads are actually composed of dozens of tiny interlocking flowers with a complex pea-like structure.
• Orange milkwort is the only truly orange-flowered milkwort in the American east — other native species are pink, purple, or yellow — making it unmistakable.

Color meanings

Uses

• native garden
• bog garden
• ornamental