Oxalis magellanica | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Oxalidales |
Family: | Oxalidaceae |
Genus: | Oxalis |
Species: | O. magellanica
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Binomial name | |
Oxalis magellanica G. Forst.
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Synonyms | |
Acetosella magellanica (G. Forst.) Kuntze |
Oxalis magellanica or snowdrop wood-sorrel is an Oxalis species found in Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, and Tasmania.[1][2] It was first described in 1789.[3] It blooms from fall to spring with white flowers.
Its native distribution is puzzling given the wide geographic separation between its populations in Oceania and South America.[2] It, along with other members of a clade within the section Oxalis that share a common ancestor dating back to roughly 30 Ma, have a strangely complex geographic distribution.[2] This is especially perplexing given that the connection between Oceania and South America via Antarctica disappeared 35 million years ago,[4] before the estimated diversification of the clade.