while we're on the subject....
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: while we're on the subject....
- From: F* G* <g*@well.com>
- Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 09:19:35 -0700
>From Robert Smaus' book 52 Weeks in the Calfornia Garden, an article
entitled "Good ol' Oxalis, the Gardener's Constant Companion."
a few selected quotes:
"The most persistent weed in Calfornia gardens must be oxalis...I have
never vanquished oxalis. If you are unfamiliar with this weed, you simply
don't know it by its proper name."
"The observant gardender has probably noticed there are at least three
distinct kinds of oxalis. One is very pretty, sending up big, bright
yellow, buttercup-like flowers. Oxalis pes-caprae grows from bulbs deep
underground so nothing you do to the top will effect it for more than a
seaon."
"Much more common is Oxalis corniculata, which spreads on above-ground
runners that root as they go. A variety of this, Oxalis corniculata
atropurpurea, has leaves that are usually a purplish red.. Leaves on the
variety tend to be flat, while leaves on the other tend to flair (flare)
back. Both have small yellow flowers.
These are the ones you will never be rid of."
"Oxalis pes-caprae is native to South Africa, which has a climate very
similar to ours, though this oxalis has the common name Bermuda buttercup
because it is a weed of great stature there. Pesky Oxalis corniculata is
native to Europe, though it has been a cosmoplitan weed for so long that no
one knows quite where in Europe it originated."
Fiona Gilsenan
Paso Robles, CA
