Oxalidaceae, or the wood-sorrels family, is a family of five genera of flowering plants, with the great majority of the 570 species in the genus Oxalis. The flowers within this family tend to be perfect, and 5-parted with a superior ovary consisting of five fused carpels.

Description

Oxalidaceae can be herbaceous plants, shrubs, and small trees.

Leaves

Oxalidaceae leaves tend to be pinnately veined, alternate, and clustered with well-developed petioles. The abaxial (under) side of the leaves can have trichomes. Herbaceous plants in this family tend to have their leaves in the form of a rosette.

Some leaves in genera Averrhoa and Biophytum, can be sensitive to both light and touch. However, through molecular studies, it has been determined that these genera make up the Oxalidaceae family, most closely related to the Connarceae family. These families form a monophyletic group with: Cephalotaceae, Brunelliaceae, Cunoniaceae, and Elaeocarpaceae. with a 2024 by the Board of the Botanic Garden & State Herbarium of South Australia study placing it in the subfamily Oxalidoideae. This same study places the rest of the genera in this family in the subfamily Averrhoideae.

Uses

Plants from this family have been used in traditional Chinese medicine. Specific species include: Averrhoa carambola, Biophytum sensitivum, Oxalis acetosella subsp. griffithi, and Oxalis corniculata.

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Biophytum sensitivum (1462099533).jpg|Biophytum sensitivum flowers and leaves

Averrhoa carambola Fruit.JPG|none|Averrhoa carambola fruit

Oxalis valdiviensis 'Chilean Yellow Sorrel' (Oxalidaceae) flower.JPG|Oxalis valdiviensis flowers

Averrhoa carambola flowers with a bee.jpg|Averrhoa carambola flowers

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References

  • Oxalidaceae and Averrhoaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. http://delta-intkey.com