SimplePlant

Oxalidaceae

Purple woodsorrel

Oxalis purpurea L.

Family
Oxalidaceae
Genus
Oxalis

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Purple woodsorrel: Oxalis purpurea , plants in flower; Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden (natural), Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Photo: SAplants, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (6)
Afrikaans
Bobbejaansuring
Chinese
芙蓉酢浆草
English
Purple woodsorrel
Japanese
フヨウカタバミ
lah
افریقی تن پتی
Thai
ผีเสื้อราตรี, ดอกผีเสื้อ, ต้นผีเสื้อ, ผีเสื้อ

Synonyms

  • Acetosella breviscapa (Jacq.) Kuntze
  • Acetosella laburnifolia (Jacq.) Kuntze
  • Acetosella purpurea (L.) Kuntze
  • Acetosella stictophylla (Sond.) Kuntze
  • Acetosella variabilis (Jacq.) Kuntze
  • Oxalis aemula Schltr. ex R.Knuth
  • Oxalis amoena Salisb.
  • Oxalis arthrophylla Turcz.
  • Oxalis breviscapa Eckl. & Zeyh.
  • Oxalis breviscapa Jacq.
  • Oxalis decipiens Schltr.
  • Oxalis fallax Eckl. & Zeyh.
  • Oxalis grandiflora Jacq.
  • Oxalis humilis Thunb.
  • Oxalis inscripta E.Mey.
  • Oxalis laburnifolia Jacq.
  • Oxalis laburnifolia var. latifolia T.M.Salter
  • Oxalis laevigata Willd.
  • Oxalis laxula Eckl. & Zeyh.
  • Oxalis laxula Jacq.
  • Oxalis mutabilis DC.
  • Oxalis mutabilis var. alba DC.
  • Oxalis mutabilis var. breviscapa DC.
  • Oxalis mutabilis var. laxula (Jacq.) DC.
  • Oxalis mutabilis var. purpurea DC.
  • Oxalis reptatrix Jacq.
  • Oxalis rigidula Jacq.
  • Oxalis sanguinea Jacq.
  • Oxalis speciosa Eckl. & Zeyh.
  • Oxalis speciosa Jacq.
  • Oxalis strictophylla Sond.
  • Oxalis suggillata Jacq.
  • Oxalis variabilis Jacq.
  • Oxalis variabilis var. nana Sond.
  • Oxalis variabilis var. rubra Jacq.
  • Oxalis venusta Lowe

Characteristics

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Lifespan
Perennial
In the US and Canada
Lower 48 states: introduced

Photos

More in Oxalis

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.