Until lately, I honestly never heard of Oxalis. I thought it was some wonderful tropical plant that I'd never experienced before moving to Florida. Then I saw one. To my shock, it was CLOVER! Now this beats all!!
Kind of pretty up close, though, don't you think?
OK, so Oxalis is clover. I pull it out of my lawn. But what's really weird is that I purchased some at the store! My goodness!! Well, I have a good excuse for purchasing the Oxalis. Afterall, it's the pretty and unique Charmed Wine.
There's others that are really pretty too, such as the Iron Cross,
Oxalis Rubra,
the variegated Corymbosa Aureo-reticulata,
Oxalis Ute,
(courtesy of www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/)
and Oxalis Lasiandra.
(courtesy of Hortus Botanicus Nursery at www.hortususb.com)
Oxalis Obtusa comes in a variety of colors as offered by Telos Rare Bulbs:
Pale Tangerine
Dark Copper
Peaches and Cream
Elizabeth
Deep Salmon
and Raspberry.
Telos Rare Bulbs also offers a variety of Oxalis Palmifrons:
Versicolor
and Deep Rose.
Another option is the Molten Lava offered by Proven Winners. This photo was found at www.learn2grow.com , courtesy of James Burghardt.
So, I suppose the bottom line is, don't be an Oxalis Hater! After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
Happy St. Patricks Day everyone!
24 comments:
Dear Kimberly, It is indeed amazing that common clover can, and does, manifest itself in so many delightful and unusual ways. Those plants suitable for a dish in the Alpine House seem, to my mind, to be far removed from that which cows apparently munch on in the fields.
Edith, I readily admit that the varieties are stunning and I'd be guilty of purchasing more of the Oxalis for display. As for the cows, they are actually very sweet animals (except the bulls) and I'm certain they would appreciate the lovely colors as well, given the opportunity! :)
I am liking the iron cross one; red and green is a mix that many in the world of design would shun, but old Ma Nature does tend to pull it off with some style!
You sure do have a large variety of them I have the Iron Cross which you happen to remind me that I left the bulbs outdoor in a pot this winter. Maybe I had an Iron Cross.LOL! I love the purple leafed varieties and your Candy Cane looking one.
Kimberly,
They come up here in the sand regularly. Just the plain green ones with the tiny yellow flowers. But it is all good, after all a weed is just a plant you don't like...
Good post! I love that charmed wine one, pretty foliage as well as the flower.
What a stunning array! The leaves in the first photo look like they're from a fairy garden. We only have native Oxalis oregana here, I had no idea there were so many color variants of oxalis. Beautiful!
I had no idea there were so many varieties of oxalis. I love the variegated one, and some of those flowers are lovely.
The Oxalis pes-caprae that Californians love to hate. Comes from the Western Cape. Here, some farmers kindly keep their sheep and cows OUT of the flower fields. So we tourists can come and gawk at those flowers. You can have any colour Oxalis except blue or red. Most of your collection would have originated in South Africa.
Who would have known! My favourites are the charmed wine and versicolor.
Your flower pictures are just amazing. I love the third photo - what a beautiful macro shot.
I love Oxalis. I had some of the 'Iron Cross' type at one time...:)
Although the leaves of some clovers and oxalis may look alike, they are not the same species. True clovers are Trifoliums. The pink one at the beginning of the post is probably Trifoliums pratense
(http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/trfpr.htm).
The others are Oxalis species or hybrids. Some of the species are aggravating becase they spread aggressively and are difficult to prevent from invading your flower beds. They will even come up several yards away from the original clump. http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/oxast.htm
I don't really care what grows in the lawn since it used to be a cow pasture, but oxalis will crowd out some plants. Having said all that, I plan to do some research on some of the ones you have pictured. If they are not aggressive spreaders, I am going to invite them to live in my garden:)
Wow! I didn't know there were so many varieties is Oxalis! Happy St.Patrick's Day!
I tried these in my garden a few years ago and the didn't come back. Bummer. Love the close up of the flower - that is such a cool picture. Thanks for picking my post on blotanical!!
Happy Patrick's Day! to you and your Family Dear Kimberly. Lovely shots... I loved all the flowers, we don't get to see most of these here in India. Clover looks so pretty... and Thx for sharing and letting us know OXALIS <=> Clover :)
I'm amazed! I know Oxalis only as a weed, but is not one that bothers me overly as it isn't half as agressive as some of the other weeds in my garden and it's hard to be too mad at a dainty little flower. I would never have imagined that there would be such a variety for the garden out there!
I had no idea there were so many. I have the triangular purple oxalis here and a green one in the garden. I like them but they don't spread so much here.
Hi Kimberly,
Happy St. Patty's day!
Such pretty images ... expecially that first one. And love those tiny butterflies enjoying tiny flowers.
I'm so tempted to purchase that charmed wine variety every time I see it in the garden center. Honestly, I didn't think it would do well here through the summer. Does it do okay for you?
Meems@HoeandShovel
I had no idea there are so many different forms of oxalis -- WOW! Great photos, especially the first one. Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!
Who knew there was such gorgeous variety in oxalis! I thoroughly enjoyed this post and your lovely photos...Happiest of St Pat's Day! gail
wow, wow, wow, i never knew there were sooo many varieties outside of the common and black...i am totally in love with oxalis palmifrons, the versicolor - stunning...i want one, pleeeeeeease!
The paradise is in the garden and you show it with your photos..
Costas
Delightful photos of the world of Oxalis Kimberly!
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