Oxygen (colloquially hare cabbage) is a modest ground cover flowering plant that can often be found on windowsills and in gardens. It got its name due to its special taste. Oxygen is also famous for some medicinal properties.
Description of the plant
Oxalis (from the Latin oxys - oxalis, that is, sour) grows wild in the territories of South Africa, South and Central America and Central Europe. In Ireland, this plant is a national symbol. The inhabitants of this country consider oxalis the flower of St. Patrick, the most revered righteous person there.
It is unlikely that it will be possible to describe the oxalis in a couple of phrases, since this plant, within the boundaries of its kind, can be both perennial and annual, both with a tuberous rhizome and with a bulbous one.
The leaves of hare cabbage are placed on a long thin petiole and there are palmate or trifoliate plates with a color of green, dark red or purple. A notable feature of the plant is that by evening the leavesroll up and open in the morning.
The flowers are small in size and regular in shape and come in white or pink with different shades. Just like leaves, they close in the evening and before bad weather. The seeds ripen into a fruit that bursts when touched.
Varieties
Now about 800 species of the described plant are known. When growing oxalis at home, care, of course, is required, and some preferences for it, depending on the type of plant, have a place to be. Moreover, this flower can be grass, shrub, and shrub. Oxalis is both an annual and a perennial plant. And the root system in different species is in the form of tubers, bulbs or rhizomes.
Since ancient times, it was believed that room sour brings happiness to the house. And so it is often given as a gift for some holidays. For such a property attributed to the plant, it is sometimes called the clover of happiness. At home, species such as Deppe's sorrel, purple sorrel, red sorrel and others are grown.
Among the variety of species, deciduous plants can be distinguished, in which the aerial part dies off for a dormant period. This is martius' oxalis and glandular. But along with deciduous plants, there are also evergreen species, such as carob oxalis, kopeck, needle-shaped. It is worth noting that any room sour in the warm season can be planted in open ground.
Oxalis four-leafed
The British called the four-leafed oxalis (Deppe's oxalis) a lucky clover or an iron cross, thanks toa special contrasting reddish or purple pattern on quadrilateral leaves.
This species is a perennial, it propagates by seeds and daughter bulbs, which are formed by autumn. Bulbs can be eaten. The flowers of the four-leaved oxalis have a simple shape and a red-pink color of wide rounded petals. Home care for Deppe's sorrel comes down to timely watering and fertilizing.
Oxalis vulgaris
Oxalis acetosella is a European native that grows in deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests. In Europe, common oxalis can often be found in gardens and parks, as well as on window sills.
This species blooms in late spring and early summer with white or lilac-pink delicate flowers. This species has a remarkable feature: in addition to flowers that open above the soil surface, the plant also has cleistogamous plants that hide under fallen needles and leaves. At the same time, flowers about 3 mm in diameter, hidden from the eyes, are closed and self-pollinating, while flowers blooming on the surface are pollinated by attracted insects. Oxalis vulgaris does not require special care at home.
Oxalis multicolored
Oxalis versicolor has an unusual and bright color of petals, it is an easily recognizable species. In some countries, this plant is called Christmas candy. Its white petals, twisted into buds, havebright red border, reminiscent of liquorice.
Another feature of the variegated oxalis is its foliage, which is very small in size, resembling needles. This species is native to South Africa. When caring for at home, multi-colored oxalis is also unpretentious, but loves warmth and diffused light, does not tolerate overflows.
Oxalis triangularis (purple)
Triangular Oxalis or Regnelli is a small and heat-loving plant, and thanks to its unusual appearance it has gained recognition and popularity among indoor plant lovers around the world.
The tripartite leaves of this species on long petioles are painted in rich purple or purple. However, there are varieties with green and reddish leaf plates. It is noteworthy that on each lobe, spots of a different shade are clearly visible at the very base.
Flowers of a triangular oxalis with five petals are painted both in white and in all shades of lilac. Like the leaves, the flowers of this species close at night and are sensitive to touch and direct sunlight.
As a result of pollination, fruits appear in place of flowers, which open when touched when they reach maturity. The seeds of the plant, although they have good germination, are rarely used for propagation at home. Triangular acid is propagated by parts of thickened rhizomes.
Home care Violet Oxalispractically does not require. However, it is necessary to provide her with sufficient lighting, given her dislike for direct sunlight. That is, the light should be diffused, but bright. When caring at home in winter, violet acid should be placed away from heating appliances.
Features of care in an apartment
When leaving at home, oxalis (photo below) is planted in a medium-sized pot. It is recommended to prepare the soil mixture for this plant in the following proportions: river sand (1 part), humus soil (2), peat (1), leaf soil (2), turf soil (2). A drainage layer of expanded clay or broken clay shards must be laid at the bottom. After planting, abundant watering is necessary.
The temperature regime for home care indoor sorrel (photo in the article) prefers the following: in spring and summer from +20 to +25 °С, in winter from +12 to +18 °С. That is, in winter it is better to rearrange the plant in a cooler room. It should be borne in mind that when caring for at home in winter, the oxalis is at rest, and some species shed their leaves, so they do not need lighting. And at the end of February, the plant can be taken out to a warm sunny place.
Oxalis is good for regular spraying in the warm season. If, in winter, acid is located near heating appliances, then additional humidity must be created for it. For example, put a plant pot in a tray of wet pebbles.
When the flower is in active statevegetation, it needs frequent watering, carried out every time the top layer dries out by 1.5-2 cm. However, stagnation of moisture in the soil should not be allowed. In autumn, watering is gradually reduced, and by the dormant period they stop altogether.
When caring for at home, the oxalis flower needs regular top dressing during the growing season. Top dressing must be applied from April to August every 14 days, alternating mineral and organic fertilizers.
Oxygen is rarely prone to disease and pest attacks. However, with excessive dampness, a disease of gray rot or powdery mildew is possible. Occasionally, spider mites and mealybugs may appear on shoots.
Methods of reproduction
Oxygen reproduces in three ways:
- Sowing seeds.
- Propagation by tubers.
- Cuttings.
With proper care, the reproduction of oxalis at home always goes well. In the first method, seeds are sown in mid-spring. Shoots will appear in 2 weeks. During the first year of life, seedlings form leaf rosettes and grow rhizomes. A fully developed plant blooms in its second year.
Reproduction by tubers at home can be done at any time of the year. In a container with prepared loose soil (the composition of the mixture in the previous section), tubers are placed to a depth of about 1 cm, while moistening the soil should be done with care. If the tuber is planted at the end of October, then a lush bush will form by the new year.
The easiest way is propagation by cuttings. Any part of the plant is suitable for this. It can be a leaf with a petiole, a peduncle with flowers, and any other segment. Rooting can be carried out both in water and directly in soil prepared in the proportions described earlier. At the same time, petioles are planted in groups and grown under diffused lighting with an air temperature of +25 ° С.
Healing properties
Science has proven the ability of sour to increase stomach acidity and stimulate appetite. Along with this, the plant has diuretic and choleretic properties.
However, traditional medicine uses this plant as an anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, wound healing agent. Oxygen is used to prevent hypovitaminosis and beriberi, it is advised to use it for anorexia and hyperacid gastritis.
Useful properties of oxalis will help in the treatment of liver diseases, heartburn, nephritis, and also strengthen the body. A medicinal decoction of this plant will have a healing effect on scorofulosis and stomach cancer. A tincture of oxalis will help relieve diarrhea, remove stomatitis, abscesses, diathesis and metabolic disorders. The use of acidic tinctures will have a beneficial effect on diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, relieve worms, help in the treatment of tonsillitis, ulcers, enuresis.
Oxalis juice lowers the temperature, treats boils, relieves menstrual pain. In Bulgaria, with its help, they strengthen the cardiovascular system, and in the Caucasus, leavesacid is used for poisoning with arsenic and mercury. This modest and unpretentious sour has such great power. She brings happiness to the house, and heals from diseases, and pleases the eye.
