Oxalis griffithii Edgew. & Hook.fil.

About Oxalis griffithii Edgew. & Hook.fil.

Oxalis griffithii Edgew. & Hook.fil. is a perennial plant that grows to 7–25 cm (2.8–9.8 in) in height. It has a stemless, pubescent rhizome that is densely covered by dark brown scale-like remains of leaf bases; the rhizome measures 6–12 mm (0.24–0.47 in) thick when including its scales, and the scales themselves are strigose. Leaves grow from the base of the plant, each with a 6–20 cm (2.4–7.9 in) petiole covered in brown, curled trichomes. Leaflet blades are obtriangular, and measure 1–2.5(–4.5) × 1.5–3.5(–5.5) cm. Leaflets are pubescent on their abaxial surface, glabrous on their adaxial surface, with a broadly emarginate to subtruncate apex and obtuse lobe apices. Flowers are solitary and nodding, growing on a 4–15 cm (1.6–5.9 in) long peduncle that is equal to or longer than the leaves. Lanceolate bracts 2.5–4 mm (0.10–0.16 in) long are present at the middle of the flowering stalk, with dense trichomes along the midvein and margins. Sepals are lanceolate, 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) long, and persistent. Petals are white with lilac veins, rarely pink in populations from Hubei, narrowly obovate, 1.2–1.6 (–2) cm long, with a deeply emarginate retuse apex. The capsule is oblong-conic, measuring 5–13 mm (0.20–0.51 in) × 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in). Seeds are ovoid, 2.5–3.5 mm (0.10–0.14 in), with longitudinal ridges. This species grows in mixed deciduous or coniferous forests and thickets, occurring in both moist and dry shady locations at altitudes between 800–3,400 m (2,600–11,200 ft). It can be found in China, Taiwan, Bhutan, India, Japan, Kashmir, Korea, northern Myanmar, Nepal, and the Philippines.