Candy cane sorrel

Description

Oxalis versicolor or candy cane sorrel is a species of flowering plant in the family Oxalidaceae found in South Africa. A bulbous perennial, it grows to 8–15 cm (3.1–5.9 in) forming a mound of fresh green leaves, each leaf composed of three elongated leaflets. In late summer and autumn, narrow white tubular buds form at the tip of slender stems. A curved scarlet edging to each petal gives the appearance of a candy cane. The flowers open in full sunlight, but remain furled at other times. In cultivation in the UK this plant is only completely hardy in mild or coastal areas, down to −5 °C (23 °F). It has been given the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. 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. The fruit is a small capsule containing several seeds. The roots are often tuberous and succulent, and several species also reproduce vegetatively by production of bulbils, which detach to produce new plants.