Oxalis acetosella
Ecology
A perennial creeping herb of woodland, hedgerows, banks, and other moist, usually shaded, habitats; also in rough montane grassland, grikes in limestone pavement, Vaccinium communities, bryophyte-rich block screes, and rock ledges. It grows on both calcareous and non-calcareous soils, though only those which are moisture-retentive. It is one of the few species able to survive the deep shade of conifer plantations. 0-1160 m (Ben Lawers, Mid Perth).
Status
Trends
The distribution of O. acetosella has little changed since the 1962 Atlas, where it was mapped as `all records`. The bulk of the losses in E. England probably occurred before 1950.
World Distribution
Eurasian Boreo-temperate element.
Broad Habitats
Light (Ellenberg): 4
Moisture (Ellenberg): 6
Reaction (Ellenberg): 4
Nitrogen (Ellenberg): 4
Salt Tolerance (Ellenberg): 0
January Mean Temperature (Celsius): 3.4
July Mean Temperature (Celsius): 14.4
Annual Precipitation (mm): 1138
Height (cm): 10
Perennation - primary
Life Form - primary
Woodiness
Clonality - primary
Count of 10km squares in Great Britain: 2393
Count of 10km squares in Ireland: 791
Count of 10km squares in the Channel Isles: 2
Atlas Change Index: -0.74
Weighted Changed Factor: -11
Weighted Change Factor Confidence (90%)
JNCC Designations
PLANTATT - Attributes of British and Irish plants. (.zip 1455KB) This dataset was compiled and published in 2004, and last updated in November 2008. Download includes an Excel spreadsheet of the attributes, and a PDF explaining the background and nomenclature. Note that the PDF version is the booklet as published, whereas the Excel spreadsheet incorporates subsequent corrections. A hardcopy can be purchased from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
Atlas text references
Atlas (95b)
.
1988. Comparative Plant Ecology.
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1986. Atlas of north European vascular plants north of the Tropic of Cancer. 3 vols.
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1978. Vergleichende Chorologie der zentraleuropäischen Flora. Volume 2. 2 vols.
.
1978. Biological Flora of the British Isles. No. 141. Oxalis acetosella L. Journal of Ecology. 66:669-693.
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1958. Oxalis in the British Isles. Watsonia. 4:51-69.