OXALIDEJ!. 138 



OXALIS, L. 



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

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



* Leaves rosulafe ; cyme umhelliform. 



1. O. VS.ax^a.KD.z,, Ziuc. Tubers aggregate ; ^earoe* ^im&sr, stipulate : leaflets 3, sessile, 

 broadly obcordat*, 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. — 0. bipunctata, 6rah., Macf. — 

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

 Anns; S. Vincent!, e«8?i;^.; [Mexico!, Brazil!, Buenos Ayres!]. 



** Stem leafy, herlaceous ; leaflets 3, sessile, ohcordate. 



2. O. comiculata, Jj. Annual ; stem creeping at the base, diffuse ; stipules petiolar ; 

 leaflets sessile, ohcordate ; 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. Oiserv. {non. Z.). — West Indian forms: 



j8. microphglla, Poir. Stem low, emitting rooting runners ; leaflets small, cUiate : sinus 

 spreading; peduncles 1-2-flowered. — O. corniculata, )3, repens, Zucc. — The most common' 

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



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

 3-flowered, pubescent.— 0. jamaicensis, Maxif. !- The same form ocom's in southern Spain 1 : 

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

 combines 3 and 7, having the leaves of the former, the pubescence of the latter, and the 

 growth of a. 



Hab. Jamaica !, Al. (fi) ; S. Kitts !, Dominica !, Imr. (7) ; Trinidad I, Or. (7) ; [Mexico ! 

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

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



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



3. O. Barrelieri, /0c;. Annual, AeriaceojM, or wSni!us&ix.rA, puhescent ; leaves sti- 

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

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

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

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

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

 BrazU!, Galapagos!]. 



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

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

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

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

 transversely rugose. — Besc. M. 1. t. 32. — O. hedysai'oides, 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. frutescens, Z. 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. — 0. Plumieri, Jacq. — ^A low, tortuous shrub : 

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



Averrhoa Bilimbi, L. (Desc. Fl. 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. 



