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Species library › Oxalis › Oxalis tuberosa
Other Well documented

Oxalis tuberosa

Oca, an Andean tuber crop grown at about 2,800–4,100 m and not known truly wild. It needs a long, cool growing season and only forms tubers when days shorten to about 12 hours, so outside the tropics frost before late autumn is the main obstacle.

Oxalis tuberosa
Photo: Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night A clear drop at nightTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

High Andean fields, terraces and field margins; the wild relatives grow in central Andean scrub and grassland.

Records span 0–4,380 m but the median is 3,500 m; cultivation is concentrated at 2,800–4,100 m.

PeruBoliviaEcuadorColombiaNorthwest Argentina

🔒 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

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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 3.0 licence, unmodified.