Oxalis triangularis leaves are purple with
deep rose patterning, green base color and a triangular shape. The light
pink-tinged white
flowers are not showy, but add a counterpoint to the
purplish-green trigonometry of this geometric plant.
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Oxalis triangularis has attractive purple
leaves.
Click Image to
Enlarge |
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Purple Shamrock makes an
attractive seasonal
groundcover.
Click Image to Enlarge |
Oxalis triangularis light pink-white
flowers are not showy.
Click Image to Enlarge |
The Myth of
the Shamrock
"According to Irish
legend, the druids in Ireland looked at the shamrock as
a sacred plant because its leaves formed a triad. Three
was a mystical number in the Celtic religion.
Then St Patrick, who was
thought to be born in Wales, used the shamrock in the
5th century to teach people about Christianity as he
traveled around Ireland.
He told people that each
of the three leaves illustrated the Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit of the Holy Trinity.
Old Irish manuscripts
make no reference to this in connection with St Patrick,
so this is likely to be pure mythology."
The truth behind the shamrock
There is some debate as
to whether the famous Shamrock of Ireland is a
Trifolium or an Oxalis -- this is
likely a debate that will not be settled anytime soon
because as James Armitage of the Royal
Horticultural Society stated in a BBC interview, "The
shamrock is known from artwork and not from an exact
botanical representation, so to fix a species to it is
quite difficult."
Purple
Shamrock Facts
Common
Name:
Purple Shamrock, Lucky Shamrock
Botanical
Name:
Oxalis triangularis
ssp. papilionacea
Family:
Oxalidaceae
Plant
Type: Low growing
clump-forming ground cover
Origin:
Mexico
Zones:
8 - 11
Height:
6"
Rate
of Growth: Medium
Salt
Tolerance:
Soil
Requirements: Fertile
Water
Requirements: Likes to
be in moist, well drained soil
Nutritional
Requirements: Balanced
liquid fertilizer monthly
Light
Requirements: Full sun
to filtered shade
Form:
Clumping
Leaves:
4 inversely triangular leaflets, 3" long
Flowers:
Loose umbel-like cymes of
4-12 widely funnel shaped
pink-tinged, white flowers
Fruits:
Pests:
Spider mites, leaf miners, fungal leaf spot
Uses:
Low growing clump-forming ground cover --
mix
Oxalis triangularis
with other plants as it has dormant periods.
Bad
Habits:
Cost:
$ -- reasonable
Propagation:
Bulbs
Source: 
AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY A-Z ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GARDEN PLANTS
