Oxalis purpurea
Encyclopedia
Oxalis purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the woodsorrel family
known by the common name purple woodsorrel. It is native to southern Africa, including South Africa
, but it is known on most continents as an introduced species
. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant
. This perennial herb grows from bulb
s and produces a few basal leaves and flowers. The leaf is made up of three hairy leaflets of various shapes which are dark green in color, turning streaked and spotted with brown as they dry. The solitary flower arises on a stemlike peduncle
and has five petals which may exceed two centimeters in length. The flower may be white to pink or purple-red.
Oxalidaceae
The Oxalidaceae, or wood sorrel family, are a small family of eight genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs and small trees, with the great majority of the 900 species in the genus Oxalis...
known by the common name purple woodsorrel. It is native to southern Africa, including South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, but it is known on most continents as an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
. This perennial herb grows from bulb
Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
s and produces a few basal leaves and flowers. The leaf is made up of three hairy leaflets of various shapes which are dark green in color, turning streaked and spotted with brown as they dry. The solitary flower arises on a stemlike peduncle
Peduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...
and has five petals which may exceed two centimeters in length. The flower may be white to pink or purple-red.