Copy permalink to share
Oxalidaceae
Oxalis

not marked as a favorite taxon Oxalis violacea Linnaeus. Common name: Violet Wood-sorrel. Phenology: Mid Feb-May (-Jul). Habitat: Dry to moist forests. Distribution: MA, VT, MI, SD, and CO south to FL, TX, and AZ.

Glossary (beta!)

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Synonymy ⓘ: < Ionoxalis violacea (L.) Small — S, S13; < Oxalis violacea L. — Ar, C, FNA12, G, GrPl, Il, K4, Mi, Mo3, NcTx, NE, NY, Pa, RAB, Tat, Tn, Tx, Va, W, WH3, Nesom (2009b), Robertson (1975), Ward (2004a); > Oxalis violacea L. var. trichophora Fassett — F, WV; > Oxalis violacea L. var. violacea — F, WV; < Sassia violacea (L.) Holub. Basionym: Oxalis violacea L. 1753

Links to other floras: < Oxalis violacea - FNA12

Show in key(s)

Show parent genus | Show parent in key(s)

Heliophily ⓘ: 4

Your browser does not support SVGs

Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend.

image #1 of Oxalis violacea© Keith Bradley | Original Image ⭷
image #2 of Oxalis violacea© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
image #3 of Oxalis violacea© Alan Cressler: oxalis violacea (white form), stone mountain, stone mountain park, dekalb county, georgia 1 by Alan Cressler source | Original Image ⭷
image #4 of Oxalis violacea© Scott Ward, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Scott Ward source CC-BY | Original Image ⭷
image #5 of Oxalis violacea© Joey Shaw source | Original Image ⭷
image #7 of Oxalis violacea© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
image #8 of Oxalis violacea© Scott Ward, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Scott Ward source CC-BY | Original Image ⭷
image #9 of Oxalis violacea© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷

Feedback

See something missing or incorrect about Oxalis violacea? Let us know here:
  1. Please include your name and if possible, email in case when need to clarify what you wrote.
  2. If you opt out of including email, please be as specific as possible (e.g., which photo is incorrect?)
  3. Please do not submit questions asking to identify plants or about horticultural topics (e.g., how do I control an invasive plant in my garden?). Instead, those questions can be submitted here for the Carolinas region only.
  4. Please do not send us feedback about unkeyed species as this work is ongoing.
  5. Please allow time for flora edits to show in our next data release. We greatly appreciate your feedback but may require extra time to research complicated taxonomic issues.

Horticultural Information

NCBG trait

Intro: Low-growing, stoloniferous perennial of dry to moist upland forests and well-drained floodplain forests.

Stems: Stems essentially absent; leaves and flowering stalks emerge from stolons.

Leaves: Leaves long-petiolate, divided into 3 heart-shaped leaflets (3/8-1 in. wide each), grayish-green with purplish markings and smooth; leaflets fold downward along mid-vein at night and in cloudy weather.

Inforescence:

Flowers: Flowers 3-12 in a floppy umbel, on a smooth scape rising above the leaves; violet to pink with a white and green throat; about 1/3 in. wide; consisting of 5 oblong-oval petals, 5 sepals tipped with orange glands and 10 stamens.

Fruits: Fruit a rounded or oval capsule that splits into 5 sections. Seeds have a fleshy pad (aril) that attracts ant dispersers.

Comments:

Height: 4-8 in.

plant sale text:

bloom table text:

description: Low-growing, stoloniferous perennial of dry to moist upland forests and well-drained floodplain forests.

stems: Stems essentially absent; leaves and flowering stalks emerge from stolons.

leaves: Leaves long-petiolate, divided into 3 heart-shaped leaflets (3/8-1 in. wide each), grayish-green with purplish markings and smooth; leaflets fold downward along mid-vein at night and in cloudy weather.

inflorescence:

flowers: Flowers 3-12 in a floppy umbel, on a smooth scape rising above the leaves; violet to pink with a white and green throat; about 1/3 in. wide; consisting of 5 oblong-oval petals, 5 sepals tipped with orange glands and 10 stamens.

fruits: Fruit a rounded or oval capsule that splits into 5 sections. Seeds have a fleshy pad (aril) that attracts ant dispersers.

comments:

cultural notes:

germination code:

native range: eastern & central United States



0 unsaved edits on this page.