Curtis Botanical – Plate 8065 – Petalless Milkwort / Baja Polygala

Original antique black-and-white print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 8065.

A remarkable Baja California milkwort that has almost entirely lost its petals (apopetala = without petals) — the flowers are reduced to the bare essentials of reproduction. The milkwort family (Polygalaceae) takes its name from the Greek for 'much milk' — the plants were thought to increase milk production in nursing mothers and livestock.

Southern California and Baja California connection.

Uncolored plate. Condition consistent with age of volume. Each print is a unique piece of botanical history, printed on paper aged over a century.

This is an original uncolored (plain) plate from leftover publisher stock of Curtis's Botanical Magazine, printed in London. It was issued uncolored and never bound. We bought the holding at the estate of a Chicago rare bookseller. Labels and stock papers from the British dealer Wheldon & Wesley came with it. Library stamps, when present, are noted on the listing.