Oxalis update

AW awilson@avonia.com
Sun, 31 Oct 2010 00:36:06 PDT
The addition of the variety 'tubiflora' in the species Oxalis hirta now
appears in the Photo Wiki
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…
irta

While considered a variety by most, some consider it a subspecies and yet
others recognize it as a separate species, O. tubiflora, the name under
which it was first accessioned. I have avoided the murky details of the
history in the addition but it's possible that a change will be recognized
one of these days. The appearance of the flowers, leaves and habit of this
variety (ssp., sp., whatever) makes it quite unmistakeable from the species,
O. hirta. The reason for 'tubiflora' in the name is that the base of the
flower has a long tubular portion in which the petals become fused only
after the petals have been formed (Diversity and Evolutionary Biology of
Tropical Flowers, Peter K. Endress, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1996). 

I have grown this plant for years without difficulty. Unlike many other
oxalis species here it is usually avoided by birds and most rodents. The
bulbs increase gradually in number rather than prolifically as the species
tends to do. 

Andrew Wilson
San Diego   


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