Flora of North America species comparison

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Oxalis laxa

Oxalis metcalfei

dwarf wood-sorrel

Metcalfe's wood-sorrel
Habit Herbs annual, caulescent, sometimes densely cespitose, rhizomes and stolons absent, bulbs absent. Herbs perennial, acaulous, rhizomes and stolons absent, bulb 5–10 mm, usually surrounded by dense cluster of bulblets, 3–4 mm (sometimes obscuring bulb); bulb scales 3-nerved.
Aerial stems

1–5 from base, erect, 0.5–7 cm, usually herbaceous, sometimes becoming ± woody proximally, hirtellous to villous-hirtellous.

Leaves

cauline;

stipules rudimentary;

petiole 1.5–6 cm;

leaflets 3, green, obcordate, 5–12 mm, lobed 1/5 length, lobes apically convex, surfaces glabrous, oxalate deposits absent.

basal;

petiole 7–15 cm;

leaflets 3, green, obtriangular-obcordate, 11–25 mm, lobed 1/6–1/3 length, lobes apically rounded to shallowly convex, surfaces glabrous, oxalate deposits usually in narrow band 0.5–1.5 mm along margins at base of notch, sometimes evident on one surface but not other, rarely absent.
Inflorescences

racemes, 6–14-flowered;

peduncles 3–15 cm.

umbelliform cymes, 3–7-flowered;

scapes 7–22 cm, glabrous.
Flowers

heterostylous;

sepal apices without tubercles;

petals yellow, 6–12 mm.

tristylous and distylous;

sepal apices with 2 orange, narrow-elongate, nonconfluent tubercles;

petals white to pale green proximally with green veins, purplish to lavender or pink distally, (9–)12–16 mm.
Capsules

ovoid to spheric, 3–5 mm, puberulent.

cylindric, 6 mm, glabrous.
2n

= 28, 42.

Oxalis laxa

Oxalis metcalfei
Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun. Flowering (Jun–)Jul–Sep(–Oct).
Habitat Disturbed sites, riparian woodlands, riverbanks, gravelly beaches, rock crevices, foothill woodlands. Stream banks, wet meadows, canyon bottoms, talus, rocky banks, crevices, juniper-chaparral, Cercocarpus, pine, yellow pine-Douglas fir-oak, Douglas fir-aspen, pine-white fir-Douglas fir, spruce-fir, or spruce woodlands.
Elevation 10–800 m. (0–2600 ft.) 1800–3100(–3400) m. (5900–10200(–11200) ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; South America (Chile) [Introduced in North America]
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango, Sonora, Zacatecas)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Oxalis laxa is widespread in California in the eastern part of the Central Valley and along the central coast.

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

Oxalis metcalfei has mostly been identified as O. alpina (Rose) Rose ex R. Knuth, but the latter is a species of south-central Mexico, far from the populations in northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Oxalis alpina has leaflets with dotlike oxalate deposits scattered throughout the lamina, concentrated near margins, or as continuous, filiform marginal bands around the lobe apices; the corollas usually are white. Oxalis metcalfei is consistently different in the nature of its foliar oxalate deposits and the corollas usually are purplish to lavender or pink.

Plants with chromosome numbers of 2n = 28 are found in both Arizona and New Mexico; those with 2n = 42 are found only in New Mexico (S. C. Weller and M. F. Denton 1976).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 145. FNA vol. 12, p. 149.
Parent taxa Oxalidaceae > Oxalis Oxalidaceae > Oxalis
Sibling taxa
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. 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. montana, O. oregana, O. pes-caprae, O. pilosa, O. purpurea, O. stricta, O. suksdorfii, O. texana, O. triangularis, O. trilliifolia, O. violacea
Synonyms O. corniculata var. sericea, O. micrantha, O. radicosa, O. simulans Ionoxalis metcalfei, I. monticola, O. bulbosa, O. neomexicana
Name authority Hooker & Arnott: Bot. Beechey Voy., 13. (1830) (Small) R. Knuth: Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin-Dahlem 7: 314. (1919)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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