Plant: Perennial herb; BULBS 1-2 cm long

Leaves: 6-20 cm tall; leaflets 3, 6-34 mm long, 10-50 mm wide

INFLORESCENCE: 3-10-flowered; pedicels less than 35 mm long

Flowers: perfect, the petals clawed, connate at base; stamens 10; pistil 5-carpelled; styles 5, corollas pink or lavender, 8-20 mm long

Fruit: FRUITS fleshy explosive capsules, cylindrical, 4-12 mm long. SEEDS 1-1.5 mm long, arillate

Misc: Scrublands or coniferous forests; 1200-2700 m (3500-8000 ft); Aug

REFERENCES: Denton, Melinda. 1998 Oxalidaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. 30(2): 115.

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Herbaceous perennial with creeping, thick and woody rootstocks, caulescent or acaulescent, the sap acidic, the leaves 6-20 cm tall.

Leaves: Digitately compound, the leaflets 3 or more, wedge-shaped, sparsely to copiously strigose, these 6-34 mm long and 10-50 mm wide.

Flowers: Inflorescence 3-10 flowered, flowers pink or lavender, the corolla 8-20 mm long, perfect, regular, with 5 petals, the petals clawed, connate at the base, sepals 5, stamens 10, the filaments united at he base, unequal, with 5 longer than the others.

Fruits: Capsules dehiscent, 5-celled, 4-12 mm long.

Ecology: Found in scrublands or coniferous forests from 3,500-8,000 ft (1067-2438 m); flowering August.

Notes: Think 3-leaved clover to help identify this genus, but you will have trouble distinguishing among the various species that all look similar. A collection is advised where there is overlap.

Ethnobotany: A decoction of the bulb was used for pain and applied to sores.

Etymology: Oxalis is from Greek oxys for sharp, sour, while drummondii is named for Thomas Drummond (1790-1835) a Scottish naturalist.

Synonyms: Oxalis amplifolia

Editor: LCrumbacher, 2011