Garden pink-sorrel

Description

Oxalis latifolia is a species of flowering plant in the woodsorrel family known by the common names garden pink-sorrel and broadleaf woodsorrel. It is native to Mexico and parts of Central and South America. This is a perennial herb growing from a system of small bulbs and spreading via stolons. There is no stem. The leaves arise on long petioles from ground level, each made up of three widely heart-shaped leaflets about 4.5 centimeters wide. The inflorescence is an array of several flowers, each with five pink petals (some varieties have white flowers). It is known on most other continents as an introduced species and a noxious weed and invasive species, as it infests many types of agricultural crops. In south-eastern Australia, it is found in gardens, on roadsides, disturbed sites and is most likely a garden escape. It is spread by conveyance of soils containing the plant’s bulbils, as well as by runoffs, ants, and by larger animals like dogs and birds. Oxalis is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae, comprising over 550 species. The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species diversity is particularly rich in tropical Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. Many of the species are known as wood sorrels (sometimes written "woodsorrels" or "wood-sorrels") as they have an acidic taste reminiscent of the sorrel proper (Rumex acetosa), which is only distantly related. Some species are called yellow sorrels or pink sorrels after the color of their flowers instead. Other species are colloquially known as false shamrocks, and some called sourgrasses. For the genus as a whole, the term oxalises is also used. These plants are annual or perennial. The leaves are divided into three to ten or more obovate and top notched leaflets, arranged palmately with all the leaflets of roughly equal size. The majority of species have three leaflets; in these species, the leaves are superficially similar to those of some clovers. Some species exhibit rapid changes in leaf angle in response to temporarily high light intensity to decrease photoinhibition. The flowers have five petals, which are usually fused at the base, and ten stamens. The petal color varies from white to pink, red or yellow; anthocyanins and xanthophylls may be present or absent but are generally not both present together in significant quantities, meaning that few wood-sorrels have bright orange flowers.