Senega paniculata

Senega paniculata

Senega paniculata

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Fabales
Classification System: APG IV Superregnum: Eukaryota Cladus: Orthokaryota Cladus: Neokaryota Cladus: Photokaryota Cladus: Diaphoretickes Cladus: CAM Cladus: Archaeplastida Regnum: Plantae Cladus: Angiosperms Cladus: Mesangiospermae Cladus: Eudicots Cladus: Core eudicots Cladus: Rosids Cladus: Eurosids I Ordo: Fabales

Familia: Polygalaceae
Tribus: Polygaleae
Genus: Senega
Species: Senega paniculata

Name

Senega paniculata (L.) J.F.B.Pastore & J.R.Abbott, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 108: 208 (2023)

Synonyms

• Homotypic
  • Polygala paniculata L. in Syst. Nat., ed. 10. 2: 1154 (1759)
  • Polygala paniculata var. normalis Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 49 (1891), not validly publ.
• Heterotypic
  • Polygala amaniensis Gürke ex Chodat in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 48: 311 (1912), nom. nud.
  • Polygala brasiliensis Mart. in Flora 20(2 Beibl.): 93 (1837), nom. illeg. homonym. post.
  • Polygala caripensis Turcz. in Bull. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou 27(II): 350 (1854 publ. 1855)
  • Polygala humilis Vell. in Fl. Flumin.: 293 (1829), nom. illeg. homonym. post.
  • Polygala paniculata var. ambigua Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 49 (1891)
  • Polygala paniculata var. brasiliana DC. in Prodr. 1: 329 (1824)
  • Polygala paniculata var. carlotina E.H.L.Krause in Beih. Bot. Centralbl., Abt. 2. 32: 341 (1914)
  • Polygala paniculata f. humilis Chodat in Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belgique 30(1): 301 (1891 publ. 1892)
  • Polygala paniculata f. leucoptera S.F.Blake in Contr. Gray Herb. 47: 101 (1916)
  • Polygala paniculata var. verticillata Chodat in Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belgique 30(1): 302 (1891 publ. 1892), nom. illeg. homonym. post.
  • Polygala paniculata f. violacea Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 3(2): 11 (1898), nom. nud.
  • Polygala ramosissima Cav. in Anales Ci. Nat. 4: 53 (1801)
  • Polygala tenella Willd. in Sp. Pl., ed. 4. 3: 878 (1802)

Distribution

Native distribution areas:

Continental: Southern America Regionalː Southern South America Argentina Northeast, Paraguay Regionalː Central America Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá Regionalː Western South America Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru Regionalː Brazil Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central Regionalː Northern South America Colombia, Guyana, Venezuela Regionalː Caribbean Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Leeward Is., Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. Continental: Northern America Regionalː Mexico Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest Introduced into: Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Caroline Is., China Southeast, Cook Is., Fiji, Gilbert Is., Hawaii, India, Jawa, Kenya, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Marianas, Marquesas, Nansei-shoto, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Niue, Philippines, Samoa, Santa Cruz Is., Solomon Is., Sulawesi, Sumatera, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tokelau-Manihiki, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis-Futuna Is. References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition

References

Primary references

• Pastore, J.F.B., Martinez, A., Abbott, J.R. & Neubig, K.M. 2023. Toward New Generic Delimitations in Polygalaceae II: Senega. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 108(1): 126-249. DOI: 10.3417/2023754 Reference page. : 208

Additional references

• Villaseñor, J.L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 87: 559–902. DOI: 10.1016/j.rmb.2016.06.017 Online PDF Reference page. 
• Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. 2012. Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: I–XXV, 1–1192. DOI: 10.5479/si.0081024X.98.1 BHL Reference page. 

Links

• Govaerts, R. et al. 2026. Senega paniculata in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2026 May 08. Reference page. 
• International Plant Names Index. 2026. Senega paniculata. Published online. Accessed: May 08 2026. Reference page.

Vernacular names

• español: Hierba de la víbora, Raíz de víbora
• português: Erva-de-cobra, Raiz-de-cobra

For more multimedia, look at Senega paniculata on Wikimedia Commons.