Common name:
Redwood sorrel
Family:
Scientific name:
Oxalis oregana
Main flower color:
Range:
Western regions of the Pacific states
Height:
A few inches
Habitat:
Moist coniferous woodland, below 3,000 feet; mostly coastal areas
Leaves:
Palmately divided into 3 obcordate leaflets, each up to 1.5 inches long. On stalks up to 7 inches long
Season:
February to August
Oxalis oregana is one of the few widespread flowering plants in the shady redwood forests of the California and Oregon, its range extending northwards into British Columbia. Plants are essentially stemless; leaves and flower stalks grow directly from a rhizome, and the plant spreads sideways, forming mats. Leaves are divided into three adjacent or slightly separated leaflets, light to dark green in color with white or lighter green patches along the upper midveins. Leaves have a light covering of short hairs. Lower leaflet surfaces are usually purplish.
Flowers are produced singly; they have five greenish sepals and five larger (up to one inch) petals, white to pink in color, crossed by darker lengthwise veins, and with a yellow or orange patch near the base. Petal tips are shallowly, irregularly notched. At the flower center are a ring of ten white-tipped stamens, and a pistil.
Flowers are produced singly; they have five greenish sepals and five larger (up to one inch) petals, white to pink in color, crossed by darker lengthwise veins, and with a yellow or orange patch near the base. Petal tips are shallowly, irregularly notched. At the flower center are a ring of ten white-tipped stamens, and a pistil.
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