From: "Dell Sherk" <ds429@comcast.net> Date: September 27, 2009 9:48:52 AM PDT (CA) To: "'Pacific Bulb Society'" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Subject: FW: Oxalis for BX Here are amended comments from Ron Vanderhoff about his oxalis that are on their way to you from BX 218: From: Ron Vanderhoff [mailto:rvanderhoff@sbcglobal.net] I had two description/species clarifications. Perhaps it's too late to do anything but here they are. Maybe you can forward this email to anyone who received these two species if it's not too much trouble. Oxalis anomala was certainly mislabelled. I received it from a Dutch broker under this name, but had since realized that it was mislabelled, since O. anomala is pink with different foliage, different habit, etc. I realize now that I never changed my accession record and now I've passed along more misinformation. The genus Oxalis is already a taxonomic mess and I just contributed a bit more to the mess. I believe this plant may be Oxalis ambigua instead. I seems to be very similar in more respects, including the storage organ, but with somewhat smaller flowers and shorter internodes. As for the plant labelled O. massonorum, this is quite a mystery. I received it several years ago from Jim Holmes of South Africa, who was once regarded as quite an Oxalis authority. I and others bought this under this name, but with a picture and discription identical to a very similar sounding species - O. massoniana (orange with a yellow throat). All of us who bought it apparently ended up with quite a different plant - white flowers, somewhat silvery-grey, linear, hairy foliage, etc. Actually, the foliage is mat green, but the hairs are white, giving the plant a frosted appearance. In the meantime, Jim has withdrawn a bit from from the Oxalis scene and the bulb remains a mystery, but he did recently email me with this brief message: "I have as yet not been able to I.D. that Oxalis, it came from the Sutherland area, ( as I remember ) there are a couple of people in the area that may be able to help, but I will need to track them down. Sorry I can not give you any more info at this stage.". Christiaan van Schalkwyk hasn't identified it either. I'm starting to spread a few around with the hope of someone being able to apply a name or at least a species affinity to it. Whatever its true name is, it is a wonderful Oxalis. Very low and a very heavy bloomer. I attached a couple of images. For now, the name Oxalis massonorum doesn't seem to have any taxonomic basis. Thanks Dell. Ron Vanderhoff rvanderhoff@sbcglobal.net California