Milkwort, or Common Milkwort, is a small perennial. The flowers are blue, or mauve, or even white with blue tips; they grow up in a spike. The leaves are narrow.
Common Milkwort is widely found on dry grass and sandhills on calcareous soils all over the country. The name of the plant Polygala is from the Greek and means "much milk"; it was believed to be good for the milk yield. In Ireland the juice of Milkwort was one of those used to cure warts. Common Milkwort can easily be confused with Heath Milkwort (Polygala serpyllifolia), a plant with shorter spikes and darker flowers, which grows in acid soil.
The flowers are in bloom from May to August.
Common Milkwort grows widely in Europe, west Asia and North Africa.