Polygala sanguinea is an annual herb to 40 cm tall, stem erect.
Leaves alternate, linear to narrowly elliptic to 4 cm wide 0.1 cm wide.
Flowers rose-purple, white or greenish, irregular, to 0.5 cm, in dense rounded or cylindrical heads to 2 cm long on a stalk to 2 cm long; blooming July-Sept.
Fruit a capsule seeds with fleshy appendage (aril) possibly ant dispersed (see Claytonia).
Wetland status: FACU.
Frequency in NYC: Very infrequent.
Origin: Native.
Habitat: Meadows, open woods.