Oxalidaceae
Encyclopedia
The Oxalidaceae, or wood sorrel family, are a small family of eight genera of herb
aceous plant
s, shrub
s and small tree
s, with the great majority of the 900 species in the genus Oxalis
(wood sorrels). Members of this family typically have divided leaves
, the leaflets showing "sleep movements", spreading open in light and closing in darkness.
The genus Averrhoa of which starfruit is a member, is often included in this family, but some botanists put it in a separate family Averrhoaceae.
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
aceous plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s, shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s and small tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, with the great majority of the 900 species in the genus Oxalis
Oxalis
Oxalis is by far the largest genus in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae: of the approximately 900 known species in the Oxalidaceae, 800 belong here...
(wood sorrels). Members of this family typically have divided leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
, the leaflets showing "sleep movements", spreading open in light and closing in darkness.
The genus Averrhoa of which starfruit is a member, is often included in this family, but some botanists put it in a separate family Averrhoaceae.