XXXII. GEKANlACEiE (oLIVER). 295 



5. OXALIS, Linn. ; Bentli. et'Hook. f. Gen. ?1. i. 276. 



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

 ferous, free or slightly connate at the base. Ovary S-lobed, 5-celle(l, with 

 5 distinct styles and capitate subcapitate or emarginate stigmas; ovules 

 1-QO. 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, i»tcu- 

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



1 have not seen the specimen of '"'' Averrhoa ?" from Seoegambia, referred to iu the 

 ' Niger Flora.' 



Leaves trifoliolate. 

 Unbranched. 



Peduncles 1-flowered. 



Bulbs smooth. Flowers about 1 in. Sepals without apical 



calli 1.0. obliquifoOa. 



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



apical calli 2. 0. punctata, vir. 



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. semiloba. 

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



yellow 5. 0. cemua. 



Branching, with axillary peduncles 6. 0. comiculata. 



Leaves abruptly pinnate, multifoliolate. 



Sepals 5-7-nerved, exceeding the capsule . . . . ' 7-0. sensitiva. 



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



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

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

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

 lent, cuneate, obtusely rounded above, entire or the median h-aflet ret use, 

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

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

 latter, exceeding the leaves. Sepals oblong-lanceolate, apparently without 

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



Nile Iiand. Mountainous places, Abyssinia, Schimper ! Pariyru ! 

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

 than a distinct species. 



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



Cap. i. 335. Acaulescent or rhizomatous, from a bhickish ovoid areolate- 

 reticulate bulb. Leaves tufted, 3-foliolate, glabrous, on petioles of 1 2 J in. ; 

 leaflets broadly obovate-cuueate, broader than long, entire or thr median re- 

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



