A couple of milkworts growing in Glen Nevis in Scotland! I’m not familiar with the genus Polygala, so identifying these was tricky for me. Given their small size and opposite basal leaves, I think they’re probably Polygala serpyllifolia, heath milkwort, which is common in peat bogs, heaths, and grasslands. Polygala serpyllifolia is very similar to Polygala vulgaris, common milkwort, which has larger flowers and alternate leaves, though, and I can’t say with 100% certainty they - and in particular the bottom plant - aren’t P. vulgaris instead.
Interestingly, when we were researching this plant, we found that a botanist in 1854 misidentified Polygala amara subsp. amara using the name P. serpyllifolia. Our understanding of plant systematics has changed a lot since the 1800s, and all three plant names listed in the International Plant Names Index as published by poor Carl von Fischer-Ooster are no longer accepted.
Milkwort got its common name from a description by Greek botanist and physician Pedanius Dioscorides between 60 and 90 CE, who believed it to increase milk production. Interestingly, it was first used for nursing mothers, and later became associated with cows instead! Milkworts can have purple, pink, and blue flowers, and the blue ones in particular are associated by Christians with Mary, mother of Jesus.
