Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Small

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Tropical rainforest

Range

South America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Bulbs

Defense

Toxins

Status

Uncommon

About

False shamrock is a Brazilian perennial prized for its deep-purple, butterfly-shaped leaflets that fold shut each night — a daily sleep movement called nyctinasty. In spring it sends up clusters of delicate pink trumpet flowers above its dramatic foliage.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

• Read on Wikipedia →
• View on iNaturalist →
• Watch on YouTube →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Oxalidales

Family

Oxalidaceae

Genus

Oxalis

Species

Oxalis triangularis