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palmate-leaved Oxalis
Oxalis
Oxalis (UK: ok-SAH-liss, US: OK-sə-liss) is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family, Oxalidaceae, comprising over 550 species. The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species diversity is particularly rich in tropical Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa.
Many of the species are known as wood-sorrels (also as wood sorrels or woodsorrels) as they have an acidic taste reminiscent of the sorrel proper (Rumex acetosa), which is not closely related. Some species are called yellow sorrels or pink sorrels after the colour of their flowers instead. Other species are colloquially known as false shamrocks, and some called sourgrasses. For the genus as a whole, the term oxalises is also used. Many plants in this genus contain oxalic acid; the acid being named after the genus Oxalis.
32 branches of this group, most-observed first
Common Yellow Woodsorrels
sectionCorniculatae
scaly-bulbed Oxalis
sectionIonoxalis
Oxalis
sectionOxalis
Cernuae
sectionCernuae
Articulatae
sectionArticulatae
Oppositae
sectionOppositae
Angustatae
sectionAngustatae
Foveolatae
sectionFoveolatae
Lotoideae
sectionLotoideae
Crassulae
sectionCrassulae
Carnosae
sectionCarnosae
Sagittatae
sectionSagittatae
Latifoliolatae
sectionLatifoliolatae
Alpinae
sectionAlpinae
Depcock Sorrels
complexOxalis depressa-pocockiae
Palmatifoliae
sectionPalmatifoliae
Giganteae
sectionGiganteae
Roseae
sectionRoseae
Herrerae
sectionHerrerae
Algoa Sorrel
speciesOxalis algoensis
Ripariae
sectionRipariae
Stictophyllae
sectionStictophyllae
Oneleaf Sorrel
speciesOxalis monophylla
Campanulatae
sectionCampanulatae
Section Caesiae
sectionCaesiae
Ortgieseae
sectionOrtgieseae
Rhombifoliae
sectionRhombifoliae
Neocaledonicae
sectionNeocaledonicae
Myriophyllum
sectionMyriophyllum
Oxalis platylepis
speciesOxalis platylepis
Oxalis macrorrhiza
speciesOxalis macrorrhiza
Pseudobulbosae
sectionPseudobulbosae
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
Famine Relief Herbal
Zhu Su · 1406 · p.65
Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants
Leonhart Fuchs · 1542 · p.498
Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants
Leonhart Fuchs · 1549 · p.496
On the Names of Plants
Hieronymus Bock (Tragus) · 1552 · p.388
On the Names of Plants
Hieronymus Bock (Tragus) · 1552 · p.387
Commentaries on the Six Books of Pedanius Dioscorides on Medical Matter
Pietro Andrea Mattioli · 1565 · p.617
Commentaries on the Six Books of Pedanius Dioscorides on Medical Matter
Pietro Andrea Mattioli · 1565 · p.618
Six Groups of the History of Plants
Rembert Dodoens · 1583 · p.659
Six Groups of the History of Plants
Rembert Dodoens · 1583 · p.659
Compendium of Materia Medica
李時珍 · 1596 · p.111
The Dutch Herbarium or Herbal
Petrus Nylandt · 1670 · p.100
Jan Moninckx; Maria Moninckx — Moninckx Atlas, vol. 1 (1686)
Jan Moninckx; Maria Moninckx · 1687 · p.30
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Oxalis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 864989.