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pink oxalis, pink sorrell, windowbox wood-sorrel

purple woodsorrel, violet wood-sorrel

Habit Herbs perennial, acaulous, rhizomes present, thick, woody, irregularly nodulate-segmented, often covered with persistent petiole bases, stolons absent, bulbs absent. Herbs perennial, acaulous, rhizomes usually absent, rarely present, slender, scaly, stolons absent, bulb solitary, bulblets at rhizome tips; bulb scales 3-nerved, margins villous-ciliate on distal 1/3–1/2.
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.

basal, rarely absent at flowering;

petiole (4–)7–13(–24) cm;

leaflets 3, green to purple abaxially, green adaxially, often with purplish, lateral band across lobes of each leaflet, rounded-obcordate to obreniform, (5–)8–15(–20) mm, lobed 1/4–1/3 length, lobes apically convex, surfaces glabrous, oxalate deposits in lines along margins at base of notch.

Inflorescences

usually umbelliform cymes, less commonly in irregular cymes, 3–12-flowered;

scapes 12–28 cm, sparsely strigose.

umbelliform cymes, (1–)2–8(–19)-flowered;

scapes (6–)9–23(–31) cm, glabrous.

Flowers

heterostylous;

sepal apices with 2 orange tubercles;

petals usually purplish rose to red, rarely white, 10–14 mm.

distylous;

sepal apices with 2 orange, linear, apically confluent tubercles;

petals white to pale green proximally with green veins, rose purple or lavender to pink or white distally, 10–18 mm.

Capsules

ovoid, 4–8 mm, sparsely strigose.

ovoid, 4–5 mm, glabrous.

2n

= 42.

= 28.

Oxalis articulata

Oxalis violacea

Phenology Flowering Mar–Jul. Flowering Apr–May(–Jul) (with leaves) and Aug–Oct (usually without leaves, following rains).
Habitat Disturbed places, especially near gardens, lawns, fields, roadsides. Sandy soils, gravelly soils, prairies, limestone glades, hills of granite, limestone, and rocky-clay, rock outcrops, bluffs, bottomland, oak-pine/heath, oak-hickory, live oak, or juniper woodlands, cutover pine forests, roadsides, disturbed sites, abandoned fields.
Elevation 0–250 m. (0–800 ft.) 50–400(–1000) m. (200–1300(–3300) ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
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]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NJ; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; WY; Mexico (Coahuila)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Oxalis violacea in the flora area is native to the eastern United States, reaching westward as far as the line of states from North Dakota to Texas; it is apparently non-native in Oregon and Wyoming, if those plants are correctly identified. Plants identified by M. F. Denton (1973) as O. violacea and those considered to have affinity to that species from Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico are identified here as O. latifolia and O. metcalfei.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 12, p. 153. FNA vol. 12, p. 150.
Parent taxa Oxalidaceae > Oxalis Oxalidaceae > Oxalis
Sibling taxa
O. albicans, O. bowiei, O. brasiliensis, O. caerulea, O. californica, O. colorea, O. corniculata, O. debilis, O. decaphylla, O. dichondrifolia, O. dillenii, O. drummondii, O. florida, O. frutescens, O. grandis, O. hirta, O. hispidula, O. illinoensis, O. incarnata, O. intermedia, O. latifolia, O. laxa, O. macrantha, O. metcalfei, O. montana, O. oregana, O. pes-caprae, O. pilosa, O. purpurea, O. stricta, O. suksdorfii, O. texana, O. triangularis, O. trilliifolia, O. violacea
O. albicans, O. articulata, O. bowiei, O. brasiliensis, O. caerulea, O. californica, O. colorea, O. corniculata, O. debilis, O. decaphylla, O. dichondrifolia, O. dillenii, O. drummondii, O. florida, O. frutescens, O. grandis, O. hirta, O. hispidula, O. illinoensis, O. incarnata, O. intermedia, O. latifolia, O. laxa, O. macrantha, O. metcalfei, O. montana, O. oregana, O. pes-caprae, O. pilosa, O. purpurea, O. stricta, O. suksdorfii, O. texana, O. triangularis, O. trilliifolia
Synonyms O. articulata subsp. rubra, O. rubra Ionoxalis violacea, O. violacea var. trichophora
Name authority Savigny: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 4: 686. (1798) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 434. (1753)
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