Common name: Wood Sorrel, Broadleaf woodsorrel, Mexican oxalis • Hindi: खट् मिट्ठी Khatmitthi • Manipuri: Yensil
Botanical name: Oxalis latifolia Family: Oxalidaceae (Wood sorrel family)
There are more than 800 species of woodsorrels or "shamrocks." Most have
clover-like leaves with three leaflets, sour tasting foliage (from the
oxalic acid), and flowers and leaves that close up at night. Broadleaf
woodsorrel has distinctly triangular leaflets, white or pinkish flowers
with green throats, and grows from a thickened, bulblike taproot. It has no
stems at all. Instead, the 8-10 in leaf petioles and flower pedicels arise
directly from the rootstock. The leaflets are like equilateral triangles,
about 2 in on a side and smooth bright green. The five-petaled,
funnel-shaped flowers are about 1 in across and borne in loose, open
clusters throughout the whole summer and fall. Broadleaf woodsorrel spreads
readily from underground runners and forms a ground cover in moist, shady
areas. Wood sorrels occur naturally on all continents.
| Photographed in Nainital. |
|
ative