Oxalis melanosticta vs. O. purpurea 'Ken Aslet'
Ron Vanderhoff (Tue, 11 Jul 2006 21:29:21 PDT)

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
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