Oxalis obtusa

Bulbous perennial of the Oxalidaceae family, native to the Cape region in South Africa, where it grows in open areas, sandy and rocky slopes of the fynbos, under a Mediterranean climate with marked summer drought.

It forms very low small clumps, barely 5 to 10 cm in height, consisting of trifoliate leaves with very small, rounded, slightly hairy leaflets, medium green to slightly bronzed, creeping and closely pressed against the ground. The disproportion between this small foliage and the flowers is striking: the widely spread corollas dominate the carpet of leaves with a magnitude that seems almost incongruous at this scale.

The flowers, borne individually on thin peduncles, are bright pink to warm salmon pink, with darker veins finely marked on the petals and a well-defined bright yellow central eye. The corolla has a velvety texture perceptible to the eye. It is a very variable species, with many forms described according to the color of the flowers.

In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from July to October (austral winter-spring). In cultivation under our latitudes, it blooms in spring, from April to May.

It is cultivated in pots or in very well-drained rock gardens, in full sun, with a dry rest period in summer. Its hardiness is limited and it requires winter protection in regions with regular frosts. Pot cultivation in a cold shelter suits it particularly well.