Re: Oxalis Trouble

>
>I've tried no boiling water on my ever aggressive oxalis but just this
>weekend I dug way down retrieving those nasty bulbs out of my garden....AND I
>can only get to them without gloves on so you end up getting sore finger tips
>but it may be worth it.  I think Janet is correct in saying that if even the
>tiniest part of the bulb (which seems to be designed to split apart) remains
>you will once again have a plant.....if you try to remove it when it first
>appears it is much easier to remove the tiny bulbs over the large ones. 
>
>I find that Oxalis is also a very aggressive seed thrower - cut those blooms
>off and don't allow them to go to seed, once those seed pods burst you will
>have dozens of those little guys all around.
>
>Good luck
>
>Kemberly in Katy Texas


Oxalis (often called Wood Sorrel or Lady's Sorrel) is one of those 
genera of plants that gives us pernicious weeds (Oxalis stricta and 
other annual relatives) and horticulturally desirable species such as 
O. adenophylla, O. bowiei, O. brazieliensis, O. hirta, O. per-caprae, 
O. purpurea, and O. regnelli.  Sorrel may be used as a culinary herb 
(ever hear of sorrel soup?), although I don't know which species are 
used for this. They all seem to have a tart flavor to the stems and 
leaves - oxalic acid.

I'm currently growing one species, Oxalis megalorrhiza, (= O. 
carnosa) a tuberous rooted species from Chile, Bolivia, and Peru. 
Rather ordinary in leaf and flower, it forms tuberous roots that can 
be lifted above the soil to give a rather interesting display.  For 
an  example (not my plant, though) , you can go to:

http://www.execpc.com/~llmen/oxcarnosa.jpg

The photo is from Gordon Rowley's "Caudiciform and Pachycaul 
Succulents" (try saying that 3 times in a row after a few beers or 
your favorite beverage) and I hope I will be forgiven for this 
blatant copyright infringement.







-- 
Don Martinson
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
l*@execpc.com


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