Oxalis articulata |
Oxalis hirta |
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pink oxalis, pink sorrell, windowbox wood-sorrel |
tropical wood-sorrel |
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Habit | Herbs perennial, acaulous, rhizomes present, thick, woody, irregularly nodulate-segmented, often covered with persistent petiole bases, stolons absent, bulbs absent. | |
Plants | apparently do not fruit in California. |
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Leaves | basal; petiole 11–30 cm; leaflets 3, green to purplish abaxially, green adaxially, rounded-obcordate, 18–20 mm, margins densely loosely ciliate, lobed 1/5–1/3 length, lobes apically convex, surfaces evenly strigose-villous to strigose-hirsute, oxalate deposits in dots concentrated mostly toward margins or over whole surface. |
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Inflorescences | usually umbelliform cymes, less commonly in irregular cymes, 3–12-flowered; scapes 12–28 cm, sparsely strigose. |
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Flowers | heterostylous; sepal apices with 2 orange tubercles; petals usually purplish rose to red, rarely white, 10–14 mm. |
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Capsules | ovoid, 4–8 mm, sparsely strigose. |
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Oxalis | hirta is recognized by its rhizomatous habit, sessile to subsessile leaves with unlobed leaflets, and large, solitary, axillary flowers. |
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t | . |
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m | . |
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Salter | (1944) referred to O. hirta as a polymorphous group-species and recognized seven varieties in South Africa, primarily based on variation in habit and corolla color (white to pink, purplish, or yellowish) and shape (funnelform to cylindric). |
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2n | = 42. |
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Oxalis articulata |
Oxalis hirta |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Jul. | |
Habitat | Disturbed places, especially near gardens, lawns, fields, roadsides. | |
Elevation | 0–250 m. (0–800 ft.) | |
Distribution |
AL; AR; CA; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; OK; OR; SC; TX; VA; South America (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Europe, Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
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Africa (South Africa) [Introduced, Calif.; introduced also in Europe, Australia] |
Discussion | Oxalis articulata in the United States commonly has been identified as O. rubra. Oxalis rubra was treated at subspecific rank by A. Lourteig (1982), but subsp. articulata and subsp. rubra have essentially the same native range and occur in similar habitats. Lourteig identified both subspecies in the United States, noting in her key that vestiture is reduced and the sepals are broader in subsp. rubra. Evidence is weak for recognizing more than a single entity. In the Flora of Panama (Lourteig 1980), she recognized only O. articulata, noting that it is naturalized in other parts of America and in the Old World. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Varieties 5–7 (1 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 153. | FNA vol. 12, p. 146. |
Parent taxa | Oxalidaceae > Oxalis | Oxalidaceae > Oxalis |
Sibling taxa | ||
Subordinate taxa | ||
Synonyms | O. articulata subsp. rubra, O. rubra | |
Name authority | Savigny: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 4: 686. (1798) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 434. (1753) |
Web links |