Oxalis elegans H.B. & K.
Frost-tender bulbous perennial with 3 roundish leaflets, green above purplish beneath and flowering stems bearing 2-6 purple flowers with a deeper coloured throat. [RHSD].
Horticultural & Botanical History
A variable species, its flowers described as violet-coloured [Don] and purple [JD]. ‘Its leaflets are firm, fleshy, dark, rich green, stained with purple on the under-side. A 9 inch stalk bears a truss of 5-6 deep rose-coloured flowers, with a rich dark-purple eye. Planted in the open border, and fed abundantly with air and dew, it has become a gem of the purest water.’ [The Gardeners Chronicle, 1849]. It was heavily advertised in this journal at this time.
‘It is difficult to say which of the 2 varieties is the best. The flowers of variety alpha are the largest, but the palest coloured: variety beta has the smaller but deepest coloured blossom. Whether the purple underside of the leaf is peculiar to alpha or occasionally common to both I cannot say. [The leaves are] generally purple beneath in alpha , pale green beneath in beta. [The scapes are] terminated by an umbel of from 6-9 or 10 handsome showy flowers. [The] entire corolla is of a purple colour, more or less deep, and varying a little in size: in the centre is an intensely dark purple eye.’ [BM t.4490/1850].
‘This beautiful flowering species, [originally discovered by Humboldt on the Andes of Loxa, in Columbia, at nearly 7000 feet] which has usually been grown in the greenhouse, flourishes and blooms profusely in the open border. It deserves a place in every greenhouse or flower garden.’ [FC p.242/1849, FC p.25/1850]. Introduced to Britain in 1846, sent from Peru to Veitch and Sons, Exeter, by Thomas Lobb. [PD].
History at Camden Park
Listed in the 1850 and 1857 catalogues [B.371/1850]. Obtained from Veitch’s Nursery, brought out from England by Captain P. P. King in 1849. Believed by Macarthur to be a new introduction. [ML A1980-3].
Notes
Published Jan 28, 2010 - 03:02 PM | Last updated Jan 28, 2010 - 03:09 PM
Family | Oxalidaceae |
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Category | |
Region of origin | Peru |
Synonyms | |
Common Name | |
Name in the Camden Park Record |
Oxalis elegans |
Confidence level | high |