2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Four-leafed oxalis (Latin Oxalis tetraphylla) - herbaceous bulbous perennial plant of the genus Kislitsa (Latin Oxalis), ranked by botanists as belonging to the family of the same name Kislichnye (Latin Oxalidaceae). Due to its beautiful decorative two-colored leaves and abundant bright flowering, it is widely used in horticultural floriculture, and also grown as a houseplant.
What's in your name
The generic Latin name "Oxalis" is an exact translation into Russian of its name "Kislitsa".
It is easy to understand the meaning of the specific epithet "tetraphylla", which is also embedded in the Russian epithet "four-leafed", especially when you look at a plant and see its decorative leaves formed by four independent leaves, while most of the relatives of this species are distinguished by three-leafed formations.
Gardeners four-leafed Kislitsa is better known under the name"
Kislitsa Depp (Latin Oxalis deppei). There are other synonyms for this plant species.
The first who made a botanical description of Kislitsa four-leafed was a Spanish botanist named Antonio Jose de Cavanilles (16.01.1745 - 05.05.1804).
Description
The underground part of the plant is represented by a brownish bulb with a network of thin side roots and elongated shoots. If Kislitsa vulgaris has no stem, then this species has it, only it is almost invisible due to its small size.
Petiolate basal leaves form a loose rosette of 3-6 pieces. Petioles 15-20 centimeters high are weak and thin. The top of the petiole is crowned with four independent leaflets, which together form one palmate-complex leaf. Such a rosette of leaves forms a low compact bush, and numerous rosettes turn the site into a continuous decorative living carpet.
The appearance of a composite leaf is very decorative. Each leaf copies the shape of a miniature heart with a small depression at the top edge. The edges of the leaves are decorated with sparse denticles, and against the main light green background of the leaf plate, a central dark spot with jagged edges, painted in a dark purple, purple-brown or reddish color, stands out.
Delicate leaves can serve as a natural barometer or a clock showing the period of the day. The fact is that the approaching bad weather, night or too bright rays of the sun have a depressing effect on them. The leaves fold along their central vein and dutifully drop down like the wings of a tired butterfly.
Throughout the summer period, the compact plant is decorated with umbellate loose inflorescences formed by relatively small funnel-shaped flowers located on long and thin peduncles. Five delicate petals with noticeable longitudinal veins, turning their surface into a kind of corrugated fabric, can be painted in pinkish-reddish or violet-reddish color. The mouth of the funnel is yellow-green with protruding yellow stamens. The diminutiveness of the flower does not prevent it from being very cute and attractive.
The crown of the growing season is the fruit - the capsule.
Usage
The decorative appearance of the four-leafed Kislitsa and the relative unpretentiousness of the plant won the hearts of flower growers and gardeners, making the plant popular in summer cottages and garden plots, as well as when decorating balconies, loggias, garden pavilions and even living quarters where there is no need to dig out bulbs that are afraid of winter frost.
Four-leafed Kislitsa is propagated by sowing seeds, or by bulbous babies.
Leaves and flowers of four-leaf acid can be added to salads without being carried away by large doses, since the oxalic acid present in them is harmful to the kidneys in large doses.
Recommended:
Crow's Eye Four-leafed
Crow's eye four-leafed is one of the plants of the family called liliaceae, in Latin the name of this plant will sound as follows: Paris quadrifolia L. As for the name of the four-leafed crow's eye family, in Latin it will be like this: Liliaceae Juss.
Amazing Marsilia Four-leafed
Marsilia four-leafed is a species of aquatic fern and lives in wetlands and swamps in Asia, as well as in North American and European territories. This green beauty also takes root well in aquariums, where it is placed in the foreground. Nevertheless, among aquarists, the magnificent four-leafed Marsilia is extremely rare to meet, since it is characterized by a rather slow growth
Bee Kingdom. Part Four
This part will be the final part of our journey through the bee kingdom. Consider the main criteria for wintering bees and some diseases
Four-seeded Peas
Four-seeded peas (lat.Vicia tetrasperma) - one of the annual representatives of the genus Peas or Vika (Latin Vicia), included by botanists in the legume family (Latin Fabaceae). This fragile creature of nature with a weak curly stem is outwardly similar to its other relatives, except that it does not form dense inflorescences, but prefers to show single or paired, pale blue miniature flowers.
Bead Bead Four-stalk
Bead four-stalked (lat.Tamarix tetranda) - flowering decorative culture; one of the many representatives of the Tamarix genus of the Tamarix family. It is found naturally in some European countries, Transcaucasia, as well as in some regions of the Russian Federation (mainly in the south and east of the European part).
