0XALIDEJ3. • 133 



1. OXALIS, L. 



Sepals 5, distinct, or united at the base. Capsule 5-lobed, loculicidal. Seeds covered 

 with a fleshy testa, which separates from the inner integument. — Leaves usually trifoliolate. 



* Leaves rosulate ; cyme umbelliform. 



1. O. Martiana, Zucc. Tubers aggregate ; leaves basilar, stipulate : leaflets 3, sessile, 

 broadly obcordate, with a narrow sinus, hairy, glandular beneath ; cymes umbelliform, cer- 

 nuous ; sepals biglandular at the top, blunt, distinct ; petals violet ; stamens hairy, the 

 longer exceeding the hairy styles. — Bot. Mag. t. 3938. — O. bipunctata, Grah., Mac/. — 

 Petioles often 1' long ; petals" 8 '"-10"' long. — Hab. Jamaica !, AL, in the mountains, S. 

 Anns; S. Vincent !, Guild. ; [Mexico !, Brazil !, Buenos Ayres !]. 



.** Stem leflfy, herbaceous ; leaflets 3, sessile, obcordate. 



2. O. corniculata, L. Annual; stem creeping at the base, diffuse; stipules petiolar ; 

 leaflets sessile, obcordate ; cymes few-1-flowered : pedicels at length recurved ; petals yellow ; 

 longer stamens nearly as long as the styles ; capsule pubescent, many-seeded.- — Jacq. Oxal. 

 t. 4. — O. stricta, Sw. Observ. {non L.) . — West Indian forms : 



0. microphylla, Poir. Stem low, emitting rooting runners ; leaflets small, ciliate : sinus 

 spreading; peduncles 1-2-flowered. — O. corniculata, j8, repens, Zucc. — The most common 

 form : identical specimens occur in New Zealand ! and Ascension ! 



7. pubescens. Stem long, ascending ; leaflets pubescent : sinus narrow ; peduncles 

 2-flowered, pubescent.— 0. jamaicensis, Mac/. /-The same form occurs in southern Spain!: 

 another variety (0. villosa, MB.), more common in southern Europe, is much smaller, and 

 combines £ and y, having the leaves of the former, the pubescence of the latter, and the 

 growth of o. 



Hab. Jamaica !, Al. Q3) ; S. Kitts !, Dominica !, Imr. (7) ; Trinidad !, Cr. (7) ; [Mexico ! 

 to Chili !, Sandwich Islands ! to New Zealand !, China ! to Mauritius !, Levant ! and Medi- 

 terranean region ! to the Cape ! ; introduced in Middle Europe as far north as 56° L.B.]. 



*** Stem leafy ; leaflets 3 : terminal distant. 



3. O. Barrelieri, Jacq. Annual, herbaceous, or suffrutescent, pubescent ; leaves sti- 

 pulate : leaflets ovate or ovate-oblong, blunt or pointed ; peduncles bifid : cymes corymbi- 

 form; sepals distinct ; petals pale-purple, and yellow-variegated at the base ; longer stamens 

 as long as the styles; capsule ovate-oblong : seeds 2-3 in each cell, transversely rugose. — 

 Jacq. Oxal. t. 3. — Stem about 1' high; leaflets variable, pubescent or glabrous, glaucous 

 beneath, 8"'-l 2'" long. — Hab. Trinidad!, Lockh., Cr. ; [Guadeloupe!, Panama!, Venezuela!, 

 Brazil!, Galapagos!]. . ' * 



4. O. sepium, St. Hil. Annual, herbaceous, or suffrutescent, glabrous ; leaves stipu- 

 late, glabrate : leaflets oval or oval-roundish, rounded or emarginate at the top, membra- 

 naceous, glaucous beneath; peduncles bifid: cymes corymbiform; sepals distinct; petals 

 yellow ; longer stamens exceeding the styles ; capsule ovate-oblong : seeds 2-3 in each cell, 

 transversely rugose. — Desc. Fl. 1. t. 32. — O. hedysaroides, Zucc. {non Kth.), ex synon. O. 

 Plumieri, Sieb. ! — Stem more slender than in the preceding, which is nearly allied. — Hab. 

 Dominica, Imr.; S. Vincent!, Guild.; [Guadeloupe!, Martinique!, Panama!, Ecuador!, 

 Brazil!]. 



5. O. ftutescens, L. Shrubby; leaves stipulate, pubescent : leaflets oval, rounded or 

 emarginate at the top ; cymes umbelliform, few-flowered, not exceeding the leaves ; sepals 

 distinct; petals yellow; longer stamens exceeding the styles; capsule oval- oblong: seeds 

 2-3 in each cell, tubercled.— Bot. Reg. t. 810.— O. Plumieri, Jacq.— A. low, tortuous shrub : 

 the herbaceous extremities leafy.— Hab. Dominica !, Imr. ; S. Vincent ! ; [Martinique]. 



Averrhoa Bilimbi, L. (Desc. Ft 5. t. 333), and A. Carambola, L. (ib. t. 335), have been 

 introduced from the East Indies, and are cultivated in Jamaica and in the Caribbean Islands. 



