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Oxalis debilis

Pink Woodsorrel

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Image:	Leaves and flowers	59KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Pink Woodsorrel, Pink Wood-sorrel, Pink Shamrock

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE S.America

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; Land, lowlands - inland valleys

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Weed - minor

KEY FEATURES: Stemless herb. BULB ovoid 2.5cm long with small bulbils. LEAVES stalk to 25cm, erect; LEAFLETS 3, to 45x65mm, heartshaped attached at apex, green, a few hairs, dark spots beneath. FLOWERS stalk to 35cm, terminal cluster 2-12 flowers; 2cm long, pinkish-purple with dark veins and white throat. SEEDS not locally present.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
	++					-		-

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Oxalis debilis Kunth
SYNONYMS: Oxalis martiana Zuccarini; Oxalis debilis Kunth var. corymbosa (DC.) Lourteig; Oxalis corymbosa DC.

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Geraniales; OXALIDACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Weed - minor. Comments: A very persistent garden weed. Difficult to remove.

GENERAL NOTE: Spreads by its bulbils.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.1002 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.805 Hortus 3rd
p.824 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.3/627 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zupB03a, zM03a

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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