Oxalis purpurea L.
large-flowered oxalis
Apparently acaulous perennial, but with underground stem above bulb; bulb narrow-ovoid; outer scales dark brown or blackish, ± shining, viscid, with inconspicuous nerves. Lvs radical, 3-foliolate. Petiole (1)-2-10-(20) cm long, hairy; stipules 3-7 mm long, appearing as a broad wing, sometimes ciliate. Lamina of leaflets sessile, somewhat unequal, the terminal larger and 10-35-(45) × 1-37-(45) mm, broadly obovate, sometimes broader than long, glabrous above, hairy beneath and densely marked with short, black, glandular dashes when dry; margins long-ciliate; base cuneate; apex rounded; lateral leaflets somewhat asymmetric at base. Fls solitary, erect; peduncles 1-11 cm long, hairy. Bracts 2-3 mm long, linear-subulate, usually in lower 1/2 of pedicel; calli 0. Sepals 6-7.5 mm long, elliptic, with longitudinal black streaks when dried, with dense long, white cilia, otherwise glabrous; calli 0. Corolla forming a deep cup 2.5-4 × 2.5-3 cm, with a lower, tubular part; petals 2-4 cm long, ± suborbicular, glabrous except for ciliate margins; lower part yellowish; limb usually rose or purplish, sometimes white flushed pink outside. Stamens at 2 levels, glabrous; filaments with broad membranous wing, often almost to apex in shorter stamens. Styles < or > longer stamen whorl, hairy. Capsule not seen.
N.: Auckland to Wellington, local; S.: Nelson.
South Africa 1883
Cultivation escape, generally in waste places near gardens or rough lawns, especially in cemeteries.
FL Apr-Nov.
The petals vary from pink and rosy purple to almost white and apart from the very dissimilar O. hirta and the now doubtfully present O. bowiei, they are the largest of any spp. wild in N.Z. O. purpurea has previously been known in N.Z. as O. variabilis.
