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THALAMIFLORJE. 
ORDER XLIX. OXALIDEiE. 
Calyx 5-sepalled or 5-partite. Petals 5, hypogy- 
nous, clawed, twisted during aestivation. Stamens 
10, usually more or less monadelphous ; 5 opposite 
to the petals, forming an inner series, and longer than 
the 5 which alternate with the petals : anthers 2-cell- 
ed, innate. Ovary 5-angled and 5-celled : styles 
5 : stigmata capitate or somewhat bifid. Capsule 
ovate or oblong, sub-5-gonal, 5-celled, 5-10 valved, 
bursting longitudinally at the angles : seeds few, fixed 
to the axis, enclosed within a fleshy integument which 
curls back on the maturity of the fruit, and expels 
the seed elastically ; albumen cartilagineo-carnose ; 
embryo inverted, length of the albumen, with the 
cotyledons leafy, and the radicle long and pointing to 
the hilum. 
Suffruticose or herbaceous plants. Natives of the hotter and 
temperate regions of the world. Their foliage is generally 
acid. Several of the species, such as Oxalis acetosella of 
Europe, contain oxalic acid. The Oxalis crenata, a native 
of Columbia, and which has been introduced into the Island, 
produces at the root, a number of tubers, resembling the potato. 
I. Oxalis. Sorrel. 
Calyx of 5 sepals, sepals free or coalescing at the 
base. Petals 6. Stamens 10, shortly monadelphous 
at the base ; the 5 outer ones shorter. Styles 5, peni- 
cilliform or capitate at the apex. Capsule 5-agonal 
or cylindraceous. 
Perennial, caulescent, stipitate, or stemless ; leaves various, 
but never abruptly pinnated Name , from o^us sharp. 
1. Oxalis Jamaicensis. Jamaica sorrel. 
Stem decumbent branched pubescent, peduncles 
axillary nearly the length of the leaf, generally 2-fiow- 
ered, leaflets obcordate ciliated, petals entire, styles 
rather shorter than the inner stamens. 
