pbs Digest, Vol 10, Issue 22

David Victor davidxvictor@mailblocks.com
Tue, 18 Nov 2003 10:07:30 PST
>Mary Sue wrote:


>"Another supplier of Oxalis bulbs are Sheilam cactus nursery, at Robertson
>(South Africa).
>
>No mention if they export, but perhaps someone could email them and let us
>know.

As it happened, I e-mailed them last night and, yes, they do export and can 
supply phyto-sanitary and CITES certificates.  However, they do not accept 
personal cheques and the costs add up, particularly if you want things air 
freighted.  If you would like a copy of their list and conditions I can let 
you have it.


Paul wrote:

>O. perdicaria is VERY closely related to O. lobata (can be difficult to
>tell apart depending whether happy ot unhappy (i.e influences size of
>leaves and flowers etc).

According to Index Kewensis O. perdicaria Bert. is the same as O. 
lobata.  This is also noted in the Alpine Garden Society's encyclopaedia, 
the entry for which was written by John Watson, probably the leading field 
botanist on South American Oxalis nowadays.

>My memory of the discussion was that what so many of us have here in
>Australia as O. namaquana is acutally O. fabaeifolia.  I think it was
>worked out in that discussion that O. namaquana actually has 3 leaflets
>instead of the 2 the fabaeifolia has, plus the flowers on namaquana are a
>much stronger gold than the paler yellow that we in here have as that
>species (which the consensus was that it was actually fabaeifolia should
>look like).  That's my memory of it anyway, but that doesn't mean much
>given how shot to pieces by CFS / ME my memory is <grin>.

Paul, you are not quite right.  According to Salter O. namaquana has 3 
leaflets, with a corolla which can be yellow or (rarely) white,  the yellow 
funnel shaped tube often purple streaked.  O. fabaefolia has 2 - 5 
leaflets, with a corolla which can be yellow, pale mauve or white, rarely 
with a purple eye at the throat.  The leaflets of fabaefolia can be rather 
broad and have "wings", whereas namaquana's leaflets tend to be narrow and 
have two small brown apical calli.

Best regards,
David Victor 



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