The Plant World 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY. 



Vol IV. NOVEMBER. 1901 No. 11 



ROOTING OF OXALIS LEAVES. 



By John L. Sheldon. 



WHILE weeding a tray of seedling ferns last winter, I suppose 

 that I broke off some of the leaves of a common yellow oxalis 

 ( Oxalis corniculafa stricta) which was growing among the ferns, 

 and left the leaves on the moist soil. The tray was kept covered with 

 a pane of ground glass in order to prevent the soil from drying out, and 

 also to protect the tender ferns from the sun. When I went to water 

 the ferns several days later, I happened to notice that two of the oxalis 

 leaves had rooted, one from the end of the broken petiole, the other at 

 the junction of the leaflets. The rooting of oxalis leaves was to me a 

 new method of propagation for that genus, the usual one being by bud 

 division or tubers, and reproduction by seeds. 



Leaves of several of the cultivated species were procured from one 

 of the city florists and set out among the ferns to see if they too would 

 also root. Most of the older leaves were destroyed by fungi or 

 "damped off." The few that survived were transplanted when they 

 were well rooted. 



Another tray was partly filled with soil, on top of which was placed 

 a layer of sand about an inch thick. More leaves were procured and 

 set out so that the ends of the petioles did not (piite reach the soil. 

 The sand was kept moderately moist by sprinkling. Every few days 

 the sand was carefully removed from one side of a few of the petioles 

 to see what was taking place. It was found that calluses were forming 

 in the same way that they do on cuttings. After several weeks roots 

 began to appear and extended down into the soil. The more mature 

 leaves did not seem to root as readily as those that were growing. A 

 few succumbed to an attack of red spider. 



