OURISIA 



OXALIS 



2417 



coccinea, Pers. Hardy herbaceous perennial, sparsely 

 hairy: Ivs. mostly radical, long-stalked, heart-shaped, 

 unequally lobed and crenate: scape furnished with 1- or 

 2-stalked Ivs. at the base, and pairs of toothed bracts, 

 from which the pedicels arise; calyx-lobes 5, short, 

 spreading. Chile. B.M. 5335. G.M. 50:633. 



macrophylla, Hook. (O. robiisia, Col.). To 2 ft. high, 

 from a short decumbent rhizome, mostly somewhat 

 hairy: radical Ivs. long-petioled, the blade 1-5 in. long 

 and ovate to orbicular-oblong, crenate, thinnish; st.- 

 Ivs. only 1 or 2 pairs, sessile: fls. large (to Jlin. diam.), 

 white or with purplish streaks, in whorls or sometimes 

 in a few-fld. umbel; corolla villous within, the lobes 

 obovate and retuse. New Zeal. B.M. 8295. G.C. III. 

 45:390. J.H. III. 66:583. Gn. 73, p. 435. G. 34:641.— 

 A good plant for blooming under glass in spring. 



O. Cockayniana, Petrie. A New Zeal, species forming large 

 matted patches, reported in England: sts. 3-6 in. or more long, 

 creeping and rooting: Ivs. ovate or ovate-spatulate, obtuse, crenate, 

 with sheathing petioles; peduncles few-fld. and 3-6 in. high, bear- 



ing large white i 



L. H. B.t 



OUVIKANDRA (Madagascar name meaning water 

 yam, referring to the edible tubers). Aponogetonacex. 

 The lace-leaf or lattice-leaf plant, O. fenestralis, is one 

 of the most distinct and interesting plants in cultivation 

 It grows in Madagiiscar, its skeletonized leaves floating 

 just under the surface of the water. The genus is now 

 included with Aponogeton, which see. 



OXALIS (Greek, sharp, referring to the usual acidity 

 of the foliage, which also gives the common name of 

 sorrel). Oxaliddceie, formerly treated as a division of 

 Geraniacex. Mostly bulbous or tuberous herbs with 

 clover-like leaves, usually cultivated as hanging-basket 

 or window plants for their flowers; a few are used in 

 salads and several South American species like 0. Dep- 

 pei (Gn. 8, p. 43) furnish edible roots or tubers. 



Annual, or with a bulbous, tuberous or creeping, 

 perennial rootstock: Ivs. alternate, mostly digitately 

 compound (3-foUolate in the native species) : peduncles 

 axillary, 1- to several-fld.; sepals and petals 5; stamens 

 10, monadelphous at base, 5 longer and 5 shorter; 

 ovarj' 5-celled; several ovules in each cell; styles 5: 

 caps, loculicidally dehiscent. — Over 400 species mostly 

 of S. Afr. and the warmer parts of Amer. The fls. 

 usually close at night and in cloudy weather, and the 

 Ivs. "sleep" at night (Fig. 2690). Trimorphic heter- 

 ogone fls. occur in many .species; our native 0. violacea, 

 sometimes grown as a hardy perennial, presents long- 

 and short-styled fls. ; and our common native yellow-fld. 

 species offer puzzling transitions between hetorogone 

 and homogone types. The small seeds are interestingly 

 discharged from the fr. by the pressure of a fleshy outer 

 envelope. The classical works on the genus are Jac- 

 quin's Oxahs Monographia (1794) and Zuccarini's 

 Monographic der Amerikanischen Oxali.s-Arten, and 

 its Nachtrag (182.5-31). Many of the earlier species, 

 characterized by the relative length of stamens and 

 styles, prove to be long-, .short-, and mid-styled forms 

 of identical species. The principal groups are some- 

 times .segregated as distinct genera. 



Generally speaking, the genus Oxalis is not highly 

 esteemed by the florists. However, several species and 

 varieties are used in masses for floral displays in botani- 

 cal collections. The noteworthy species occasionally 

 seen are O. Bowiei, O. lasiandra and its varieties alba, 

 cierulescens and lilacina, 0. varuibilis and its varieties 

 alba and rubra, O. Simsii, and O. rosea. When used 

 for display during February or March, the bulbs or 

 tubers should be cleaned and divided into conveni- 

 ent sizes during August or September. Excellent 

 results may be accomplished by potting three bulbs, 

 fonning a triangle in each 4-inch spot, placing them 

 just below the surface of the soil. The soil ingredi- 

 ents should coiLsist of loam, leaf-soil and sand, in 

 proportion to give a good porous medium. As root- 



1.53 



action and growth increa.se, repot into 5- or 6-inch 

 pot-s, which will carry them throughout the flowering 

 period. Occasionally the crowns have a tendency to 

 rise above the level of the soil; these may be lowered 

 during repotting. When the plants are well rooted, 

 periodical watering with organic fertilizer will help 

 the development of good substantial flowers. During 

 growth place the plants on the side stages near the glass 

 in a temperature of 60° F. After the flowering period 

 gradually reduce the water-supply and finally place in a 

 cool cellar for the resting-period, or under the green- 

 house bench, laying the pots side down. Specimen 

 clumps are an acquisition planted below the benches 

 in the floral display house; under these conditions they 

 will practically naturalize themselves. Plants are also 



2687. Oxalis Ortgiesii. 



conveniently grown as common house plants, either 

 in hanging-baskets or as pot-])lants for the window 

 during the summer months. When dormant they are 

 easily stored in the cellar. A disapjjointing feature is 

 the partial closing of the flowers during dull weather. 

 (G. H. Pring.) 



INDEX. 



Acetosella, 9, 

 adenophylla, 12. 

 alha, 16, 19. 

 aibijlara, 19. 

 atropurpurea, 5. 

 bipnnctata, 13. 

 Bowieana, 17, 

 Bowiei, 17. 

 Bustillosii, 12. 

 cernua, 18. 

 C3erulescens, 16. 

 corniculata, 5. 

 delicata, 6. 

 Deppei, 15. 

 dispar, 7. 

 elongata, 20. 

 enneaphylla, 11. 



fioribuyida, 13, 16. 

 full/ilia. 21. 

 graiidiftora, 19. 

 hirta, 21. 

 hirlclla. 21. 

 lasiandra, 16. 

 laxiih. 19. 

 lilacina, 16. 

 Martiana, 13. 

 TnuUiflora, 21. 

 oregana. 8. 

 Ortgiesii, 3. 

 plena, IS. 

 purpurea, 17, 19, 

 repens, 5. 

 rigidula, 19. 



rosacea, 21. 

 rosea. 1, 11. 

 rubella, 21. 

 rubra. 10, 19. 

 •Simsii, 2. 

 spedosa, 19, 

 stricta, 5. 

 sugffilata' 19. 

 tetraphylla, 14. 

 tropseolmdes, 5. 

 urbica, 13. 

 valdiviana, 4. 

 valdiviensis, 4. 

 variabilis, 19. 

 veriusia, 19. 

 versicolor, 20. 



A. Producing neither tubers nor Inilbs. 



B. Leafy-stemmed. 



c. L//.5. notched at end. 



D. Fls. red or rosy. 



1. r6sea, Feuill. Tall, erect: petioles scarcely 1 in. 

 long: fls. long-stalked, in open irregularly forked cymes 

 on long axillary peduncles, rather large, ro.sy with 

 deeper veins. Chile. B.M. 2830. B.R. 1123 (as 

 O. floribunda) . 



2. Simsii, Sweet. Resembling the preceding but 

 more delicate: fls. deep red. Chile. B.M. 2415. 



