Volume 2 > Part 1 > Year 1970 > Page 17 > Oxalidaceae > Oxalis

1. Oxalis corniculata L.wfo-0000387203

Sp. Pl.: 435. 1753; Edgew. & Hook.f., Fl. Br. Ind. 1: 436. 1874; King, J. Asiat. Soc. Beng. 62. ii: 198. 1893; Guillaumin in Fl. Gèn. I.-C. 1: 610. 1911; Ridl., Fl. Malay Penins. 1: 330. 1922, incl. var. villosa Hook.f. ex Ridl. (sphalm. ? var. villosa Hohenacker): Knuth in Pflanzenr. 95: 146. 1930; Tardieu-Blot in Fl. Gèn. I.-C. Suppl.: 549. t. 66. f. 1–6. 1945; Back. & Bakh. F., Fl. Java 1: 245. 1963.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Synonyms & Citations :

Description : Small perennial herb, ascending to erect, rooting at the nodes. Stipules present, small. Leaflets broadly to elliptic-obcordate, 4–20(–25) by 5–18(–25) mm, incised to halfway; petiole 1–5.5(–10) mm. Peduncles up to 20 mm, usually much shorter, bearing 1–5(–8) flowers. Pedicels up to 20 mm, articulate at base and beneath the calyx, in fruit straight to bent at the articulations. Sepals lanceolate, 2–6 by 0.5–2 mm. Petals spathulate-obong to -lanceolate, 3.5–10 mm long, yellow. Longer filaments without dorsal tooth. Fruit 9–20(–24) by 2–4 mm, linear-cylindric, pentagonal, minutely puberulous, green. Seeds 5–11 per cell.

Thailand : NORTHERN: Chiang Mai (Doi Chiang Dao, Doi Suthep, Wang Tao), Mae Hong Son (Pang Ton); NORTH-EASTERN: Khon Kaen (Pha Nok Khao), Nakhon Phanom (Chaiyaburi); CENTRAL: Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok).

Distribution : Cosmopolitan, very variable. Origin unknown.

Ecology : Common weed on all sorts of disturbed soil, in grass fields, gardens, estates, etc., up to 150 m alt.

Vernacular : Som sangka (ส้มลังกา), som sam ta (ส้มสามตา), phak waen (ผักแว่น).

Uses: The juice is used against inflammations of the skin, eyes, and mouth. The plant is used against scurvy, fevers, and dysentery (Burkill, Dict.: 1615. 1935).