Herb with stems not evident; bulbs globose, 1–3 cm long, tunics pale brown, vertically ribbed, ciliate with long hairs; bulbils formed from old bulbs, sessile. Leaves basal, 3-foliolate; leaflets subsessile, obcordate, 10–40 mm long, 10–50 mm wide, narrowly notched, green, glabrous above, sparsely pubescent and finely punctate with raised orange calli below, margins ciliate, sinus narrow, to c. one-fifth of leaflet length, lobes with rounded apices to c. 12 mm apart; petioles 5–20 cm long, sparsely hairy; stipules conspicuous, long and narrow, tapering into petioles. Inflorescences basal, 8–15-flowered; peduncles longer than leaves, sparsely hairy; pedicels 0.5–2 cm long, hairy. Sepals lanceolate, 5–7 mm long, sparsely hairy, green with 2(–4) orange-brown apical calli. Petals 10–20 mm long, pink. Capsules not developed in Australia. Flowers Nov.-Apr.
VVP, GipP, Gold, EGL, HSF. VVP, GipP, Gold, EGL, HSF. Naturalised in all States. Native to South America.
In Victoria, Oxalis debilis appears to be an uncommon weed, with the majority of specimens collected in or near the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, with a single collection from Sunshine (western suburb of Melbourne).
Lourteig (2000) recognised two varieties: Oxalis debilis: var. debilis and var. corymbosa (DC.) Lourteig. The varieties were distinguished mainly by distribution of calli (oxalalate deposits) in the leaf lamina. In var. debilis the dot-like calli are concentrated along the margins, and either absent or far fewer in the rest of the lamina. In var. corymbosa the deposits are evenly distributed over the whole lamina. Most of the MEL specimens that were examined are consistent with var. corymbosa, with a few specimens somewhat intermediate. Nesom (2016) notes that in their native range in South America, the two expressions are generally sympatric and that intermediates are common, as they are apparently in North America. Nesom (2016) concluded that there is no justification for maintaining the varieties, and this is the view adopted here.
