Oxalis montana is a species of flowering plant in the family Oxalidaceae known by the common namesmountain woodsorrel, wood shamrock, sours and white woodsorrel. It may also be called common woodsorrel, though this name also applies to its close relative, Oxalis acetosella.
This species is a perennial herb native to eastern North America, including eastern Canada and the north-central and eastern United States, and Appalachian Mountains.[1] The Latin specific epithetmontana refers to mountains or coming from mountains.[2]
Description
[edit]Mountain Wood Sorrel flower in Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia
Oxalis montana is a perennial herb which grows in patches connected by subterranean rhizomes. There are no stems, just clumps of leaves growing to about 10 centimetres (3.9 inches) in maximum height.
The leaves are each made up of three heart-shaped leaflets.[1] The leaflets move, folding and unfolding, in response to sunlight.[3]
There are two types of flowers, blooms that open and cleistogamous flowers that remain closed and self-pollinate.[4] The flower color is variable. Environmental factors may cause variation; flowers growing at higher elevations have less color in the veins on the petals, while the veins of those at lower elevations have a deeper pink-purple coloration.[5] The fruit is a capsule. The plant reproduces sexually by seed and asexually by sprouting large colonies from the rhizome.[1] Some populations produce no flowers in a given season and reproduce only vegetatively.[4]
This plant's extensive root network helps it stabilize the soil. It can grow on flat ground or steep slopes. The climate is often cool and moist, with high humidity and precipitation, including fog drip, and areas of long-lasting snowpack. Wildfire is uncommon.[1]
^ abcdePavek, Diane S. (1992) Oxalis montana. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Retrieved 12-04-2011.
