Oxalis caprina or Oxalis incarnata?

O. caprina and O. incarnata can appear to be very similar in leaf and
flower, and they are both considered to be "weedy". The main differences
are as follows:

O. caprina has bright green leaves, with the underside of the leaf the same
color as the upper surface. They do not fold down at night, and O. caprina
does not form bulbils in the leaf axils, but reproduces vegetatively by
prolific underground bulbils.

O. incarnata has leaves that fold down at night and are usually purplish on
the underside. O. incarnata forms bulbils in the leaf axils as well as on
the underground rhizome.

Both have lavender or pale pinkish flowers that are similar in appearance.

Diana
Telos

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mary Sue Ittner" <msittner@mcn.org>
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, May 30, 2003 7:05 PM
Subject: Re: [pbs] Oxalis caprina or Oxalis incarnata?

Dear Claude,

This was my mystery plant. I called it Oxalis sp. on the wiki and just
wrote that Diana thought it could be O. caprina. She was only

speculating.

Mine has started to dry up, but that may just be because I have stopped
watering it. It is the longest blooming Oxalis I have. (October to April).
Maybe I could keep it going longer had I kept watering it. Mine have liked
shade better than sun too and they do fine with a summer dormancy. My tag
says BX ? but I am wondering if my friend Jana gave them to me from some
she got from the BX. Mine have what I thought at first was seed in the

leaf

axils, but then decided was bulbs even though they look different from
the bulbs in the pot. I conclude that my plant is the same as yours.

Cape Plants lists an Oxalis incarnata and it seems to be native to both
summer and winter rainfall areas, has white or pale lilac flowers with a
greenish tube. Not much from the description to nail it for me. The book
says bloom from January to April so mine is blooming at the same time in
this hemisphere as this plant does in South Africa if that is what it is.
I'll be happy to correct the wiki picture and add this other possible name
as well.

Mary Sue

At 04:01 PM 5/30/03 -0700, you wrote:

There is a new oxalis forum. A question was asked about oxalis caprina.

I informed the person of the posting on our PBS site and provided a link.

The photos look very much like a specimen I received several years ago
from the UK without a name.

His response is a follows:

Claude, the plant in your photo looks a lot like Oxalis incarnata, a
South African species which is frequently found in old gardens
here in England, it spreads quickly by means of bulbils produced
in the leaf axils.

Aaron

When I checked my plant, I found small bulbils in the axils of the stem
where the flowers originate.

The plant also produces many small bulbs too. It is evergreen in my mild
climate. It does best in the cooler winter months, but if I move it into
the shade for the summer it continue to grow and flower making a very
nice hanging basket.

Comments or suggestions anyone?

Claude Sweet
San Diego, CA
USA

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