Carnegiea gigantea, Giant Saguaro

Southwest Desert Flora

Home to the plants of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Mojave Deserts

Cirsium ochrocentrum, Yellowspine Thistle

Oxalis alpina, Alpine Woodsorrel

Oxalis alpina, Alpine WoodsorrelOxalis alpina, Alpine WoodsorrelOxalis alpina, Alpine WoodsorrelOxalis alpina, Alpine Woodsorrel


Scientific Name: Oxalis alpina
Common Name: Alpine Woodsorrel
Also Called:
Family: Oxalidaceae, Wood-Sorrel Family
Synonyms: (Ionoxalis alpina, I. compacta, I. immaculata, I. pringlei, I. rupestris, I. seatonii, Oxalis metcalfei, O. monticola)
Status: Native
Duration: Perennial.
Size: Up to 11 inches more or less but mostly low-growing herbaceous herb.
Growth Form: Forb/herb;
Leaves: Green, clover-like with 3 lobes
Flower Color: Pink, violet
Flowering Season: July to September.
Elevation: 5,500 to 9,000 feet.

Habitat Preferences: Rich soils in deciduous and coniferous forests.

Recorded Range: Oxalis alpina is relatively rare in the United States where it occurs in AZ, NM and perhaps TX. In Arizona it is found in the eastern 23 of the state with few records in Navajo county. In New Mexico it is small scattered populations throughout the state.

North America & US County Distribution Map for Oxalis alpina.

U.S. Weed Information: No information available.
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No information available.
Wetland Indicator: No information available.
Threatened/Endangered Information: No information available.

Genus Information: The Plant List includes 1,761 scientific plant names of species rank for the genus Oxalis. Of these 504 are accepted species names.

37 species in Oxalis in North America; 11 species in Arizona and New Mexico, 13 species in California and 12 species in Texas.

Comments: Reliable information for Alpine Woodsorrel is scant both in publication and on-line sources.

In Southwestern Desert Flora also see Creeping Woodsorrel, Oxalis corniculata and Common Yellow Oxalis, Oxalis stricta.

Similar in appearance to Violet Woodsorrel, Oxalis violacea, an eastern and mid-central United States species.

Date Profile Completed: 03/30/2016, updated format 09/29/2017
References:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service on-line database and USGS ITIS search
Arizona Flora, Kearney, Thomas H., Peebles, Robert H., 1960, University of California Press, Berkley and Los Angeles, California.
The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 03/29/2016).
http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Oxalidaceae/Oxalis/#statistics
http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/tro-23700256
SEINet for synonyms, scientific names, recorded geographic locations and general information
http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/.