Oxalis oregana
| Oxalis oregana | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Oxalidales |
| Family: | Oxalidaceae |
| Genus: | Oxalis |
| Species: | O. oregana |
| Binomial name | |
| Oxalis oregana Nutt. |
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Oxalis oregana (Redwood Sorrel, Oregon Oxalis) is a species of the wood sorrel family, Oxalidaceae, native to moist Douglas-fir and Coast Redwood forests of western North America from southwestern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California.[1][2]
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[edit] Description
Oxalis oregana is a short herbaceous perennial plant with erect flowering stems 5–15 cm tall. The three leaflets are heart-shaped, 1-4.5 cm long with purplish undersides, on 5–20 cm stalks. The inflorescence is 2.4–4 cm in diameter, white to pink with five petals and sepals. The hairy five-chambered seed capsules are egg-shaped, 7–9 mm long; seeds are almond shaped.[3]
[edit] Light response
Redwood sorrel, Oxalis oregana, photosynthesises at relatively low levels of ambient light (1/200th of full sunlight). When direct sunlight strikes the leaves they fold downwards; when shade returns, the leaves reopen. Taking only a few minutes, this movement is observable to the eye.[4][5]
[edit] Food
The leaves of Oxalis oregana were eaten by Native Americans, probably in small quantities, since they contain mildly toxic oxalic acid, whence the genus name.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Burke Museum — WTU Herbarium Image Collection
- ^ Plant Profile for Oxalis oregana — USDA Plant Database
- ^ SAPS — Science And Plants for Schools
- ^ E-Flora BC — Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia
- ^ Light interception and utilisation — Plants in Action: Adaptation in Nature, Performance in Cultivation
- ^ Pojar, Jim; Andy MacKinnon (2004). Plants Of The Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska. Lone Pine Publishing. ISBN 978-1551055305.
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