XVIII. GERANIACEiE 
71 
in stalked, axillary, erect, 2-10-flowered umbels. Sepals 5, acute, 
minutely awned. Petals 5, unequal, entire, alternate, with 5 
glands. Stamens as in Geranium except that the 5 shorter ones 
are without anthers. Eeceptacle, ovary, styles, seeds and manner 
of dehiscence as in Geranium, except that the ripe carpels are 
pitted at the top and the styles silky on the inner surface. 
Simla, not common ; April- June. — W. India, ascending to 8000 ft. — N. Asia, 
N. Africa, Europe, including Britain. 
3. OXALIS. From the Greek oxus, sharp, acid, referring to 
the taste of the leaves. — Most temperate and warm regions. 
Annual or perennial herbs. Leaves with 3 sessile leaflets, 
alternate or all radical, long-stalked ; stipules small, adnate to the 
stalks. Flowers regular, 2-sexual, solitary on radical stalks or in 
small umbels. Sepals 5, free. Petals 5, twisted in bud, free, 
without glands. Stamens 10, 5 long, 5 shorter, all anther-bearing, 
filaments united at the base. Ovary 5-lobed, 5-celled ; styles 5, 
more or less united, stigmas capitate. Capsule ovoid or cylindric, 
5-angled, opening in 5 valves. Seeds small, 2, 3 or several in 
each cell. 
The flowers vary in the number and length of the stamens and styles. See 
Darwin’s Forms of Flowers , chapter iv. 
Flowers yellow, in small umbels. Leaves alternate . . 1. 0. corniculata. 
Flowers white or pale pink, solitary. Leaves all radical . 2. O. Acetosella. 
1. Oxalis corniculata, Linn. ; FI. Br. Ind. i. 436. Annual or 
perennial, hairy. Stems procumbent, 6-18 in., much branched, 
rooting at the joints. Leaves alternate, J-l in. across ; leaflets 
pale green, obcordate. Flowers in small, long-stalked umbels. 
Petals yellow, twice as long as the calyx. Capsule tomentose, 
cylindric, |-1 in., tipped with the persistent styles. Seeds several 
in each cell. 
Simla, roadsides, common ; April-November. — Throughout India, ascending 
to 8000 ft. — Nearly all regions ; Britain. 
. \ 
2. Oxalis Acetosella, Linn. ; FI. Br. Ind. ' i. 436. Perennial, 
pubescent ; rootstock scaly. Stem none. Leaves all radical, 
1-2 in. across ; leaflets obovate, faintly notched, lower surface \ 
often purple. Flowers solitary on long, radical stalks, 2-bracteate 
about the middle. Petals white or pale pink, veined with purple, 
3-4 times as long as the calyx. Capsule glabrous, ovoid, in. 
Seeds 2 or 3 in each cell. 
Baghi forest, in damp, shady places ; June, July. — Temperate Himalaya, 
8000-12,000 ft. — N. temperate regions (Britain, Wood Sorrel). 
The seeds are expelled through the fissures of the opening capsule by a 
curious action dependent on a difference of tension between the outer and the 
inner seed-coats. See Kerner’s Nat. Hist, of Plants , ii. 885. 
The leaves of cultivated plants are sometimes worn as Shamrock but wild 
plants are hardly above ground on March 17. 
