Oxalis melanosticta was originally described by Sonder in the South African publication Flora Capensis in 1860. However, for many years an Oxalis form was circulated under the name Oxalis purpurea 'Ken Aslet'. Even within this name, there appears to be at least two distinct clones. One which blooms well with nice somewhat overlapping petals and another with thinner petals that is a very shy bloomer. In 2002 it was determined (I'm not sure by who) that Oxalis purpurea 'Ken Aslet' was indeed the same as the species O. melanosticta. Nonetheless, many catalogs and other sources still use the now defunct name O. purpurea 'Ken Aslet'. Don't be confused with by yellow-flowered clones of O. purpurea. These look nothing like the silver-haired plants mentioned here. Ron Vanderhoff Southern California, where South African oxalis grow very well totototo@telus.net wrote: I have an oxalis bought years ago from Avon Bulbs as "Oxalis melanosticta." Somewhere along the line, the word went out (perhaps via a later catalogue from Avon Bulbs) that this was improperly named and the correct name is(was) "Oxalis purpurea 'Ken Aslet'. [Ken Aslet was head gardener at the RHS Wisley garden and there are other plants he picked out that memorialize him, Tropaeolum tuberosum 'Ken Aslet' being perhaps the best known.] Checking the wiki, I see that the entry for O. melanosticta says it is usually is commonly grown as O. purpurea 'Ken Aslet' with the implication that this latter name is wrong. There is also a picture of O. purpurea w. yellow flowers and it sure doesn't look like my plant. Can anyone give us an authoritative rundown on this nomenclatural confusion? What *is* the right name of that silvery leaved yellow flowered tuberous oxalis? Is there really an Oxalis purpurea 'Ken Aslet' as well? Is it the same as the yellow flowered O. purpurea that has been wikificated? -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php