Oxalis commutata

Oxalis commutata, sometimes called round-leaved sorrel, is a small herb growing from small, globose bulbs with attenuating tips and covered in fibrous, brown tunics. The leaves are trifoliolate with rounded leaflets, close to the ground in this photo, but they may have longer stalks.

The flower scapes, varying in length between 2 cm and 12 cm, present their solitary flowers above the foliage. The flowers are funnel-shaped, their centres yellow inside; the upper petal parts may be rose, lilac or white. Thin dark veins radiate from the petal bases towards their tips. The petal tip is broader than the base, having an obovate shape; rounded to somewhat flat on the tip. Yellow anthers protrude at different heights above the flower centre. Flowering happens from late autumn to early spring.

The plant grows on plateaus, hills and marshy places in the Western Cape, from the Karoo to the Cape Peninsula (Shearing and Van Heerden, 2008; www.pacificbulbsociety.org).