XXXII. GEKANIACEiE (OLIVER). 295 



5. OXALIS, Linn. ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. PL i. 276. 



Flowers regular. Sepals 5, imbricate. Petals 5. Stamens 10, all antheri- 

 ferous, free or slightly connate at the base. Ovary 5-lobed, 5-celled, with 

 5 distinct styles and capitate subcapitate or emarginate stigmas; ovules 

 l _Q o- _ Capsule dehiscing loculicidally ; valves persisting around the axis or 

 spreading and free. Seeds albuminous, with a crustaceous testa. — Herbs, 

 acaulescent or caulescent, rarely shrubby. Leaves radical or cauline, alter- 

 nate, 3-foliolate or abruptly pinnate and multifoliolate, rarely with stipular 

 appendages. Peduncles radical or axillary, with 1 or more (usually umbel- 

 late) flowers, yellow white or red. 



A large and widely-spread genus in both hemispheres, with upwards of 100 species, pecu- 

 liar or nearly so to the Cape, and a few widely disseminated tropical or subtropical weeds. 

 I have not seen the specimen of " A verrhoa ? " from Senegambia, referred to in the 



'Niger Flora.' 



Leaves trifoliolate. 

 TJnbranched. 



Peduncles 1 -flowered. 



Bulbs smooth. Flowers about 1 in. Sepals without apical 



calli 1.0. obliquifolia. 



Bulbs angular, areolate. Flowers under 1 in. Sepals with 



apical calli 2. 0.punc(ata,v&x. 



Peduncles 3-oo-flowered. 

 Stem or short. Leaflets obcordate. Flowers purplish . . 3. 0. caprina, var. 

 Stem or elongate, slender. Leaflets 2-lobate, with ovate or 



oblong-ovate divaricate lobes. Flowers small, purplish . . 4. 0. semi/oba. 

 Leaflets obcordate-2-lobate ; lobes rounded. Flowers J in., 



yellow 5. 0. cernua. 



Branching, with axillary peduncles 6. 0. corniculaia. 



Leaves abruptly pinnate, multifoliolate. 



Sepals 5-7-nerved, exceeding the capsule 1.0. sensihva. 



Sepals 3-nerved, not exceeding the capsule 8. 0. abyssinica. 



L O. obliquifolia, Steud.; Rich. Fl. Abyss, i. 123. Stem or short 

 and rhizomatous, from a dark brown ovoid or oblong bulb. Leaves tufted 3- 

 joliolate, glabrous or nearly so, on petioles of £-2 in. ; leaflets rather succu- 

 lent, cuneate, obtusely rounded above, entire or the median leaflet ret use, 

 f-f in. broad. Peduncles 1-flowered. glabrous, with a pair of narrow-subu- 

 late or filiform bracteoles, sometimes with a second flower from one of the 

 'atter, exceeding the leaves. Sepals oblong- lanceolate, apparently without 

 glandular calli. Petals 1 in. long or less, purplish above {Rich.). 



Wile Land. Mountainous places, Abyssinia, Schimper ! Parkyns ! 

 Nearly allied to 0. convexula, Jacq., a Cape species, and perhaps a variety of it rather 

 than a distinct species. 



2 

 Cap 



■ O. punctata, Linn. ; DC. Prod. i. 699, var. glabrata, Sond. in Fl. 

 V- i. 335. Acaulescent or rhizomatous, from a blackish ovoid areolate- 

 reticulate bulb. Leaves tufted, 3-foliolate, glabrous, on petioles of 1H "». ; 

 leaflets broadly obovate-cuneate, broader than long, entire or the median re- 

 tuse, depressed-punctate on the lower surface when dry, 3-4 lines broad. 



