Oxalis bifurca

Ernie DeMarie via pbs pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
Tue, 21 Oct 2014 14:10:46 PDT

Hi Mary Sue,
I got my original bulbs from Bill Baird who only grows oxalis spp and is pretty much a self taught expert on the genus.  I note that my plants also want to start growing in late summer, sort of like Moraea polystachya.  I can ask him for more details on O bifurcate when I next communicate with him, he may have some more insight on its name and what degree of variability might exist in this species.  I think its from the eastern Cape so that is a transitional area of winter to summer rainfall and plants there may retain winter growing tendencies even if they get some summer rainfall. 
Ernie
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Mary Sue Ittner <msittner@mcn.org>
To: pbs <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tue, Oct 21, 2014 12:56 pm
Subject: [pbs] Oxalis bifurca


Hi,

I sent a message over the weekend when the list was down and it 
hasn't come through even though the ibiblio web site says the lists 
are working again. And it isn't shown in the archives so I'm 
reposting. Sorry if this gets delivered twice.

I received Oxalis bifurca from Ernie De Marie and the BX last year. I 
like it a lot. I noticed it wasn't on the wiki so I have added photos today.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…

In trying to find text to add with it I got very confused. I have an 
Eastern Cape field guide that describes it as hairless above and 
flowering August to October. The plants I got from the BX have leaves 
that are definitely hairy although it looks smooth on top from a 
distance and it started blooming (oops) in September in the Northern 
hemisphere. Also I found a flower photo from Cameron taken in habitat 
in January.  The Oxalis checklist has flowering time as June and also 
states it is glabrous above. The Plant List has this species listed 
as unresolved. So is this just one of those species that adapts to 
conditions and even though a summer rainfall species, can be grown on 
a winter rainfall schedule? Or is the plant that many of us are 
growing something else? Or could someone have described it first as 
hairless incorrectly and everyone is just copying that description? 
Or maybe the hairs just show up with a lens or the hairs on the 
margins make it look like it is hairy above.

I hope some of our Oxalis experts can help sort this out. Thanks.

Mary Sue



 



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