O X A L I S. 
P9 
merfed, of an indeterminate length, leaflefs, biit having 
a few fcales, terminated by an umbel of leaves and flowers 
floating on the furface of the water. 
79. Oxalis ftrumofa : ftyles very fliort; filaments tooth- 
letted, equal; leaflets fpotted on both tides; middle one 
obcordate, lateral ones roundifh. Bulb oval or obovate, 
with a black hard tkin, almoft an inch in length. Stipe 
fubterraneous, one or two inches long, terminated by a 
denfe umbel of leaves and flowers. Leaves numerous, 
villofe on both tides, and at the edges. 
80. Oxalis luteola : ftyles very thort; filaments tooth- 
letted, equal; leaflets obcordate ; unfpotted and fomewhat 
villofe on both fides. Bulb ovate or oval, with a blackifli 
tkin, half the fize of a hazel-nut. Stipe fubterraneous, 
about an inch long, terminated by a loofe umbel of leaves 
and flowers. Leaves feveral, villofe all over on both tides, 
and at the edges. 
81. Oxalis lanata, or woolly wood-forrel : ftyles very 
fliort; filaments gibboufly-toothletted, equal; leaflets 
obcordate, very hirfure on both fides. Bulb deep in the 
ground. Stipe ftanding out, clofely-woolly, with one or 
two woolly fcales, about half an inch in length, terminat¬ 
ing in an umbel of flowers and leaves. 
82. Oxalis punftata, or dotted wood-forrel: ftyles very 
fliort, filaments toothletted, unequal; leaflets under¬ 
neath coloured and dotted with gold ; middle one ob¬ 
cordate; lateral ones roundifh. Bulb oval or ovate, half 
the fize of a hazel-nut, with a hard blackifli varioufly- 
angular fomewhat ftriated and wrinkled fkin. Stipe fub¬ 
terraneous, about half an inch long, terminated by a 
thinner umbel of leaves and flowers. 
83. Oxalis obtufa : ftyles middling; filaments tooth¬ 
letted, unequal; calycine leaflets rounded-blunt; leaf¬ 
lets obcordate. Bulb deep in the ground. Stipe ftand¬ 
ing out, villofe, half an inch long, terminating in an um¬ 
bel of leaves and flowers. 
84. Oxalis fallax: ftyles middling; filaments toothlet¬ 
ted, equal; leaflets obcordate. Bulb ovate or oval, with a 
blackifli-brown fkin, half the fize of a hazel-nut. Stipe 
fubterraneous, about an inch in length, terminated by a 
loofe umbel of leaves and flowers. 
85. Oxalis marginata : ftyles middling; filaments tooth- 
lefs, equal; leaflets obcordate. Bulb oval, with a black- 
ifh-brown hard fkin, an inch long. Stipe fubterraneous, 
fcarcely an inch in length, terminated by a denfe umbel of 
leaves and flowers. Leaves very many, fpreading in a ring. 
86. Oxalis pulchella, or pretty wood-forrel: ftyles very 
long; filaments toothlefs ; ftipe fubterraneous; leaflets 
obcordate. Bulb oval or ovate, with a blackifti-brown 
hard fkin, about an inch in length. Stipe fubterraneous, 
very fliort, terminated by an umbel of leaves and yellow 
flowers. 
87. Oxalis macrogonya: ftyles very long; filaments 
toothletted; ftipe fubterraneous; leaflets obcordate. Bulb 
oval or ovate, with a blackifli fkin, half the fize of a hazel¬ 
nut. Stipe about an inch in length, terminated by a loofe 
umbel of leaves and flowers. 
88. Oxalisincarnata,orflefh-coloured wood-forrel: ftyles 
very long; filaments toothletted; ftipe ftanding out, very 
long, branched; leaflets obcordate. Bulb in the young 
plant ovate, covered with a brown fkin, twice the fize of 
a pea. The root in the mature plant confifts of fevera! 
legs flenderly fufiform, terminating in a long fibre, round; 
the thicknefs of a reed and more, fome inches in length, 
flefliy, brittle, pale, fomewhat pellucid and fweet. Stipes 
very many, herbaceous, round, the thicknefs of a pigeon’s 
quill, or even of a reed, thick, green or purplifh-brown, 
a foot and a half high, upright, but fo weak as not to he 
able to fupport themfelves without aftiftance, at the bafe 
and origin of the branches having an ovate-acuminate fti- 
pule ; both they and the branches terminated by diftant 
umbels of leaves and flowers. Leaves feveral, at remote 
diftances, in whorls. This was cultivated in 1739 by Mr, 
Miller. 
89. Oxalis bifida, or cloven-leaved wood-forrel : ftyles 
very long, filaments toothletted, ftipe ftanding out, com¬ 
monly branched, leaflets femibifid, corolla bell-ftiaped. 
Stipe filiform, fmooth, ftriated, leaflefs, loofe, a foot high 
and more, together with the branches terminated by a 
denfe umbel of leaves and flowers. Branches alternate, 
direfled one way, ftriated, upright. Leaves feveral, fmooth. 
Thefe are all natives of the Cape of Good Hope. 
90. Oxalis longiflora, or long-flowered wood-forrel • 
ftipe ftanding out; leaflets femibifid; corolla caryophyl- 
leous. Stipe fcaly, leaflefs, Ample, terminating in a leafy 
flowering umbel; flowers long. Native of Virginia. 
91. Oxalis acetofella, or common wood-forrel : ftyles 
equal ; leaflets obcordate, hairy. Root perennial, 
branched, round, knobbed, creeping with very fine fibrils 
on every fide, partly white, partly red, having an ovate- 
acute, thick, rigid, fcale like a tooth at the knobs. Stipe 
partly fubterraneous, partly ftanding out, fometimes very 
little, fometimes feveral inches, then procumbent and 
ftrikingj'oot into the ground, toothletted at the knobs 
like the root, round, fomewhat hirfute, red, clo’fely-tooth- 
letted above with the permanent joints of decayed leaves, 
perennial, putting forth from its top feveral aggregate 
leaves and fcapes. Petiole jointed, round, fomewhat hir¬ 
fute, red, efpecially at bottom, from two to three inches 
long, almoft upright but weak. Leaflets fubfeffile, near 
half an inch long, wider, green and hirfute on both fides, 
ftiortly ciliate. Scapes one or two, jointed at the bafe, 
round, fomewhat villofe, red, the length of the leaves; 
with embracing, villofe, jointed braifes, above the middle. 
Calycine leaflets oblong, acute, fometimes bifid, fome¬ 
what hirfute, ciliate, purple at the tip, upright; corolla 
three times as long as the calyx, white, beautifully veined 
with purple, bell-fhaped : claws upright : borders obo¬ 
vate, rounded, fpreading very much ; antherae oblong, 
incumbent, pale-yellow, or whitifh. Receptacle none, 
except two papillae, furrounded by a yellow ring, in the 
central angle of the cells, to each of which one feed is 
faftened. Seeds regularly two, fcarcely ever more, ovate, 
comprefted like a lens, with rugged, raifed ftreaks, ruffet- 
yellow: a flefliy white aril invefts the whole feed, at firft 
fmooth and clofed on every fide, but at length, opening 
elaftically at the tip and rolling back, it wrinkles up, and 
throws off the feed with confiderable force. 
Mr. Curtis remarks, that the leaflets are of a yellowifh- 
green colour, frequently purple underneath ; that the 
petiole proceeds from a little bulb, which forms a kind 
of fheath to it; and that, although round at bottom, the 
upper part is grooved on one fide; that the calycine feg- 
ments are bluntifh and membranous at the edges; that 
the petals adhere together from the bafe juft above the 
claws, which bend a little inward, and are tinged 
at bottom with yellow ; that the antherae are bilocular ; 
that the germ is four-cornered, the ftyles very (lender and 
a little longer than the ftamens, and the ftigmas blunt; 
that there are three heart-fhaped feeds in each cell, 
grooved longitudinally, of a bright reddifti-brown co¬ 
lour; that, like the violet, it continues producing feed- 
veifels and feeds during the greateft part of the fummer, 
without any appearance of expanded blofloms, which are 
only obfervable in April and May ; and that, when it has 
done flowering, the flower-ftalk, as in many other plants, 
bends down, and, when the feed is ripe, again becomes 
upright. 
Linnaeus remarks, that the leaflets in wet weather are 
erebted, but hangdown in dry weather. Theyare alfofaid 
by fome authors to manifeft adegree of fenfibility on being 
ftruck. Villars obferves, that this elegant little plant has 
the leaves of trefoil, (fee the Botany Plate IV. fig. 19. 
vol. iii.) the tafte of forrel, and the flower of geranium ; 
from which laft it is diftinbt, according to Jufiieu, in the 
number of ftyles, the form of the capfule and manner qf 
its opening, its ftraight corcle or heart, without any pe- 
rifperm or albumen. 
Wood- 
