violet wood sorrel

(Oxalis violacea)

Conservation Status
violet wood sorrel
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

N5? - Secure

SNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Violet wood sorrel is an 4 to 6 tall, erect, perennial forb rising from a scaly, underground bulb.

There is no central stem.

The leaves are all basal. They are on purplish, usually hairless, sometimes hairy, up to 4 long leaf stalks. They are palmately divided into three leaflets.

The leaflets are ¼ to ¾ long, ½ to 1 wide, and inversely heart-shaped with the attachment at the narrow end. The upper surface is grayish green or purplish green and hairless, sometimes with a band of purple spots. The lower surface is purple and hairless. The margins are untoothed. The leaflets open and spread outwards during the day. They fold closed along the midrib and droop downward at night. They also close under intense sunlight. They repel water, so that after a rain they look dry with water beads on the surface.

The inflorescence is an umbrella-like cluster of 4 to 15 flowers held well above the leaves. They rise from the ground on 4 to 8 long, erect, leafless, hairless or hairy flower stalks.

The flowers are ½ to ¾ wide and bell-shaped. There are 5 short sepals that are not visible from above. The sepals have orange tips. There are 5 petals fused at the base into a short tube, then separated into 5 long, spreading lobes. The petals are pink to violet with purple veins, white near the center, and green at the throat. There are 10 stamens, 5 long and 5 short, with yellow anthers. The flowers close at night and on overcast days. There is no floral scent.

The fruit is a, egg-shaped capsule, up to ¼ long, with numerous seeds.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

4 to 6

 
     
 

Flower Color

 
 

Pink to violet with purple veins

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
  Violet wood sorrel is the only sorrel with pink to violet petals in Minnesota.  
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Dry. Woods, prairies.

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Flowering

 
  April to June  
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 28.

 
  5/22/2020      
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Native

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

 

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)  
  Superorder Rosanae  
 

Order

Oxalidales (woodsorrels, quandongs, and allies)  
 

Family

Oxalidaceae (wood sorrel)  
 

Genus

Oxalis (wood sorrel)  
  Subgenus Oxalis (palmately compound wood sorrel)  
  Section Ionoxalis (New-World bulbed oxalis)  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Acetosella violacea

Ionoxalis violacea

Oxalis violacea f. albida

Oxalis violacea var. trichophora

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

purple woodsorrel

violet wood sorrel

violet wood-sorrel

violet woodsorrel

 
       

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Palmate

Similar to a hand. Having more than three lobes or leaflets that radiate from a single point at the base of the leaf.

 

Rhizome

A horizontal, usually underground stem. It serves as a reproductive structure, producing roots below and shoots above at the nodes.

 

Sepal

An outer floral leaf, usually green but sometimes colored, at the base of a flower.

       
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
   

Flowers

  violet wood sorrel   violet wood sorrel
       

Inflorescence

  violet wood sorrel   violet wood sorrel
       
       

 

Camera

     
Slideshows
   
  Oxalis violacea VIOLET WOOD SORREL
Frank Mayfield
 
  Oxalis violacea VIOLET WOOD SORREL  

 

slideshow

       
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Other Videos
 
  purple
Ken Christison
 
   
 
About

Published on May 2, 2014

This is about an hour and a half real time compressed to 50 seconds. Violet Wood-sorrel (oxalis violacea) Next time I will examine them a bit closer and cut out the non viable blooms.

   
       
  ムラサキカタバミ (紫片喰) / Violet wood-sorrel
MegaValueSoyProtein
 
   
 
About

Published on Jun 19, 2013

カタバミ科カタバミ属

2013年6月7日

   
       

 

Camcorder


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