Polygala is a genus of about 500 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Polygalaceae, commonly known as milkwort or snakeroot. The genus includes herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs and small trees, and has a subcosmopolitan distribution. Herbs perennial, Roots woody. Stems caespitose, often erect, pubescent. Petiole short; leaf blade papery or subleathery; lower leaves ovate, small,  apex obtuse; upper leaves lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, large, green, both surfaces pubescent, midvein raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, lateral veins obscure or raised adaxially, base cuneate, margin entire, slightly recurved, apex obtuse, with acumen. Shrub forests, sparse forests, forest margins, grasslands on sandy loam, grassy slopes, gravel, limestone mountains, roadsides on hills; 1100-3300 m. Gansu, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, India, Japan, Kashmir, Korea, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia; SW Asia, Australia, Europe].