Click for help
Volume IV (1988) - Flora of New Zealand Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons
Copy a link to this page Cite this record

Oxalis L.

OXALIS L.

Herbs or occasionally shrubs. Lvs radical or cauline, mostly palmately compound, often with 3, entire or 2-lobed, sessile or shortly petiolulate leaflets, sometimes pinnately 3-foliolate, rarely 1-foliolate or phyllodinous. Stamens 10, in 2 whorls; carpels 5, united; styles 5, free.

Key

1
Stems usually slender, branched, creeping to erect; bulbs or tubers 0; petals yellow or white, sometimes pink-flushed on reverse; capsules usually present
2
Plants acaulous and bulbous or rhizomatous, or if stems evident, then plant with aerial or subterranean bulbs or with tubers; petals generally pink to purple, less commonly yellow or rarely completely white; capsules not seen in N.Z.
7
2
Petals white; capsules globose
14. magellanica
Petals yellow; capsules cylindric to conic
3
3
Leaflets usually 1-9 × 1.5-9 mm; fls 1-(2); capsule usually cylindric-ovoid or conic, sometimes broadly cylindric
13. exilis
Leaflets usually 5-18 × 2-23 mm; fls 1-17 (usually some peduncles with > 1 fl.); capsule cylindric or narrowly cylindric
4
4
Lvs in pseudo-whorls with internodes often to ± 6 cm long; fls 5-17 in cymes
*fontana ζ
Lvs alternate with internodes rarely > 5 cm long; fls 1-5 in cymes
5
5
Primary root slender, and plant with fibrous roots often at stem nodes; stems and petioles with spreading hairs; stipules prominent and truncate, generally with long hairs, sometimes glabrous except for long ciliate margins
2. *corniculata
Primary root stout, and plant not rooting at stem nodes; stems and petioles glabrate or with antrorse hairs; stipules inconspicuous or evident, ciliate, not truncate
6
6
Plant usually straggling; leaflets obcordate, the lobes moderately divergent and rounded towards apex, often broadly so; capsule cylindric, straight
15. rubens
Plant bushy; leaflet lobes widely divergent and ± oblong, the leaflets fishtail-shaped; capsule narrow-cylindric, often falcate
7. *perennans
7
Plants acaulous or nearly so; bulbils, if present, never aerial; lvs radical or nearly so
8
Plants with prominent stems, generally erect and simple, if branched then axillary aerial bulbils present; lvs mostly cauline
14
8
Contractile root thick and fleshy; bulbils present around main bulb
9
Contractile root 0; bulbils 0; plants with 1-2 large bulbs or rhizomatous
12
9
Fls yellow
8. *pes-caprae
Fls rose, pink, or occasionally white
10
10
Leaflets fishtail-shaped; calli 0 or inconspicuous; styles glabrous to somewhat hairy
6. *latifolia
Leaflets with rounded lobes, with or without calli; styles densely white-hirsute
11
11
Outer bulb scales 3-nerved; leaflets with calli (as glandular dots), especially around margin; pedicels prominently hairy; petals pink to rose
3. *debilis
Outer bulb scales 7-11-nerved; leaflets without calli; peduncles glabrous or nearly so; petals whitish or pale mauve-pink
11. *vallicola
12
Plant with short, rough rhizomes; petals 9-16 mm long, with hairy bands outside
1. *articulata
Plants with bulbs; petals 20-40 mm long, glabrous outside
13
13
Leaflets with numerous glandular dashes beneath (appearing black when dry); fls solitary
9. *purpurea
Leaflets without glandular dashes beneath; fls 7-9 in cymes
*bowiei ζ
14
Plant with pink tubers usually 2-8 cm long; fls rare; petals yellow except for red veins
10. *tuberosa
Plants with bulbs; fls usually produced; limb of petals white to mauve, pink or rose, the veins not noticeably different in colour
15
15
Stems erect, lower parts almost glabrous; leaflets linear or linear-oblong
16
Stems erect to spreading and flexuous, if erect then prominently hairy to base; leaflets oblanceolate to obovate or obcordate
17
16
Leaflets emarginate; petal limb white with reddish margin
12. *versicolor
Leaflets not emarginate; petal limb uniformly pink
*polyphylla ζ
17
Stems sprawling to suberect, glabrous or nearly so, with many flexuous branches, with bulbils often in many axils; petal limb very pale mauve or whitish
5. *incarnata
Stems erect, hairy, with a few erect branches, never with aerial bulbils; petal limb bright pink or rose
4. *hirta

c. 800 spp., mostly warm temperate and subtropics, especially South Africa and C. and S. America. Native spp. 3, naturalised 15.

In addition to those described below, other spp. of this large genus are in cultivation in N.Z. Commonest are the glaucous-leaved, pink-flowered O. enneaphylla Cav. from the Falkland Is and the large yellow-flowered O. perdicaria (Molina) Bertero, usually grown as O. lobata Sims, from S. America. The latter increases slightly in gardens.

Click to go back to the top of the page
Top