Discover

'Redwood sorrel' (''Oxalis oregana'') is a species of the wood sorrel family, Oxalidaceae, native to moist Douglas-fir and Coast Redwood forests of western North America from southwestern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California.^[1][2]
It is a short herbaceous perennial plant with erect flowering stems 5-15 cm tall. The three leaflets are heart-shaped, 1-4.5 cm long on 5-20 cm stalks. The inflorescence is 2.4-4 cm in diameter, white to pink with five petals and sepals. The hairy five-chambered seed capsules are egg-shaped, 7-9 mm long; seeds are almond shaped.^[3]
Redwood sorrel photosynthesises at relatively low levels of ambient light (1/200th of full sunlight). When direct sunlight strikes the leaves they fold downwards; when shade returns, the leaves reopen. Taking only a few minutes, this movement is observable to the eye.^[4]
The leaves of ''Oxalis oregana'' were eaten by Native Americans, probably in small quantities, since they contain mildly toxic oxalic acid, whence the genus name.^[5]

Contents

References

References

1. Burke Museum — WTU Herbarium Image Collection

2. Plant Profile for ''Oxalis oregana'' — USDA Plant Database

3. SAPS — Science And Plants for Schools
4. E-Flora BC — Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia
5. Pojar, Jim and MacKinnon, Andy (2004) Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alaska, Lone Pine Publishing. ISBN 1551050404