Oxalis oregana
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O. oregana
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| Oxalis oregana |
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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]
Contents
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]
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]
Food
The leaves of Oxalis oregana were eaten by the Cowlitz, Quileute and Quinault peoples. Like spinach, they contain mildly toxic oxalic acid, which is named after the genus.[6]
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
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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