128 THE LADIES' FLOWER-GARDEN 
GENUS I. 
OXALIS, Lin. THE WOOD SORREL. 
Lin. Syst. DECANDRIA PENTAGYNIA. 
Generic Character. — Sepals five, free, or connected at the base. Stiimens monadclphous at the base. Stigmas pencil-formed, rarely 
capitate or bifid. Capsule oblong or cylindrical. (G. Don.) 
Description, &c. — The genus Oxalis comprises a great number of species ; some of which are shrubby and 
some herbaceous, many having tuberous roots, but some being annual, and some stove shrubs, while others are 
the inhabitants of the greenhouse, or quite hardy. The flowers are always handsome in their form, from the 
regularity of their five unguiculate equal petals, and their colours are generally brilliant. The leaves vary 
considerably, but they are most commonly trifoliate, and slightly acid. The tubers are frequently eatable, and 
resemble in taste those of the Jerusalem artichoke. All the species grow best in a mixture of sand, peat, and 
loam, and they require regular watering, as they are easily killed by suffering the roots to become too dry. 
1.— OXALIS CRENATA, Jacq. THE SCALLOPED WOOD SORREL. 
Enoratings. — Swt. 2d ser. t. 125 ; and our fig. 2 in Plate 32. | date, downy. Peduncles umbelliferous, five or six flowered, longer 
Specific Character. — Stem erect. Leaves ternate, leaflets obcor- | than the leaves. Petals crenated. Root tuberous. 
Description, &c. — This plant is well known from so much having been said of it a few years ago as a 
substitute for the potato. Its tubers are eatable, but they are soft and watery, resembling a Jerusalem 
artichoke much more than a potato. The leaves are slightly acid, and have been recommended as a substitute 
for rhubarb in tarts, and for sorrel in fricandeaus and other made dishes ; the best way of using them is, 
however, in salads. The flowers of O. crenata are very handsome, but they are seldom produced. The stems 
die down to the ground on the first attack of frost, and the fibrous roots which unite the tubers wither, so that 
the plant may be called an annual, though it is not more so than the potato. It is propagated either by cuttings 
or tubers, for it rarely ripens its seeds in this country ; and it will grow in any common garden soil. If, 
however, the soil be too rich, it will produce little else than leaves and stems, and if too poor it will not thrive ; 
in fact, the culture depends partly on the use to which the plant is to be applied. If the tubers are required, it 
should be propagated by them, and the shoots pegged down in light rich soil, to induce them to throw out roots ; 
but if the flowers are considered the principal object, the plants should be raised from cuttings, when, generally, 
they will only form fibrous roots, and consequently will be strong enough to produce flowers, which will appear in 
July, and continue nearly all the summer. It is a plant that will not bear cutting in, if it is intended to produce 
flowers, as that treatment makes it produce only a mass of stems and leaves. It perhaps flowers best in pots or 
boxes, where it can be grown in good soil without having too much room allowed for its roots. Though its stems 
and leaves are killed by frost, its tubers are quite hardy, and even have been known to vegetate after having 
been exposed to frost when out of the ground. The species is a native of Peru, and was introduced in 1829. 
2.— OXALIS STRICTA, Lin. THE ERECT OXALIS. 
SvNONYHG. — O. ambigua, SaL 
Specific Character. — Stem erect, leafy. Peduncles umbelliferous, 
2 — 6-flowered, rather shorter than the leaves ; leaflets obcoi'date. 
Petals entire. Stylos about the length of the inner stamens. 
(G. Don.) 
Description, &c. — This species is a native of North America from Pennsylvania to Carolina, and it is said 
