Polygala verticillata is an annual herb to 40 cm tall, branches divergent.
Leaves in whorls of 2-5, linear, to 2 cm long, to 0.3 cm wide.

Polygala verticillata. Zihao Wang, Pelham Bay Park, Bronx, NYC, 9/2017
Flowers white or greenish, with pink markings, small, irregular (somewhat pea-flower-shaped), sepals 5, petals 3, fused below, one larger than other two, fringed; inflorescence of opposite or whorled dense, cylindrical to conical racemes.
Fruit a capsule, seeds with an aril (possibly ant dispersed).
Wetland status: UPL.
Frequency in NYC: Very infrequent.
Origin: Native.
Habitat: Moist sandy soil.