VIOLET WOOD-SORREL
(Oxalis violacea) Wood-sorrel family
Flowers - Pinkish purple, lavender, or pale magenta; less than 1
in. long; borne on slender stems in umbels or forking clusters,
each containing from 3 to 12 flowers. Calyx of 5 obtuse sepals; 5
petals; 10 (5 longer, 5 shorter) stamens; 5 styles persistent
above 5-celled ovary. Stem: From brownish, scaly bulb 4 to 9 in.
high. Leaves: About 1 in. wide, compounded of 3 rounded,
clover-like leaflets with prominent midrib, borne at end of
slender petioles, springing from root.
Preferred Habitat - Rocky and sandy woods.
Flowering Season - May-June.
Distribution - Northern United States to Rocky Mountains, south
to Florida and New Mexico; more abundant southward.
Beauty of Leaf and blossom is not the only attraction possessed
by this charming little plant. As a family the wood-sorrels have
great interest for botanists since Darwin devoted such exhaustive
study to their power of movement, and many other scientists have
described the several forms assumed by perfect flowers of the
same species to secure cross-fertilization.
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