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Species library › Oxalis › Oxalis triangularis
Other Well documented

Oxalis triangularis

The purple or false shamrock, a rhizomatous wood sorrel of South American forest edges and open woodland that folds its triangular leaflets at night. It likes bright indirect light, warmth and even moisture, and may go dormant to its rhizomes after stress or a dry spell.

Oxalis triangularis
Photo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Forest edges, clearings, open woodland and disturbed shady ground, growing from small scaly rhizomes in humus-rich soil.

Recorded from near sea level to 2,950 m (median 466 m, 160 records), mostly in lowland and hill country.

BrazilArgentina (Northeast, Northwest)ParaguayBoliviaPeru

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Oxalis triangularis? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, unmodified.