Oxalis metcalfei
Oxalis hispidula
Metcalfe's wood-sorrel
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.
basal;
petiole 1.5–15 cm, sparsely villous or glabrous;
leaflets 3, green, rounded-obcordate, 4–18 mm, lobed 1/6–1/5 length, lobes apically convex to nearly truncate, margins prominently ciliate, hairs stiff, sharp-pointed, abaxial surface strigose to hirsute-strigose, densely hirsute at very base, adaxial surface glabrous, oxalate deposits absent.
umbelliform cymes, 3–7-flowered;
scapes 7–22 cm, glabrous.
umbelliform cymes, 1(–2)[–4]-flowered;
scapes 3–27 cm, glabrous or sparsely hirsute-villous proximally.
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.
apparently tristylous (mid-styled flowers observed);
sepals yellowish green, apices with 2 orange, elongate tubercles;
petals yellow basally, otherwise deep rose to purple or violet, with dark purple veins proximally, 11–20 mm.
cylindric, 6 mm, glabrous.
fusiform, mature size not observed, indumentum not seen.
= 28, 42.
Oxalis metcalfei
Oxalis hispidula
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.)
Oxalis hispidula is naturalized in Baldwin County (H. E. Horne et al. 2013). The species is recognized by its leaves without oxalate deposits, outer bulb scales with mostly three nerves, flowers one (or two) per scape, and corollas violet-purple with dark veins. It was noted by S. Rosenfeldt and B. G. Galati (2009) to be tristylous.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
SW CO Wildflowers
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