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Family: Oxalidaceae Life
> eukaryotes >
Archaeoplastida >
Chloroplastida
>
Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants)
> Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants)
> Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering
plants) > Eudicotyledons > Core Eudicots > Rosids >
Eurosid I > Order: Oxalidales
There are about seven genera and 900 species
worldwide (Africa, Madagascar, Asia and America), of which two
genera and about 270 species are indigenous to southern Africa.
Genera indigenous to southern Africa
List from Dreyer and Makwarela (2000).
Biophytum
There are eight species (tropical and subtropical Africa and Madagascar), of
which two are indigenous to southern Africa. |
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Oxalis
About 500 species (cosmopolitan, greatest diversity in South America and
South Africa), of which about 270 species are indigenous to southern Africa.
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Other genera, cultivated in southern Africa
Averrhoa
Two species, Averrhoa bilimbi (Bilimbi) and
Averrhoa carambola (Starfruit,
Carambola), of which the latter is cultivated in southern Africa. Both
are indigenous to southeast Asia. Bilimbi has very sour fruit and is used
mainly as an ingredient in pickles, chutneys, jams and curries. Starfruit
has both sweet and sour cultivars. The sweet type is eaten raw and is also
used in jams, preserves, tarts and juices. |
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Publications
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Dreyer, L.L. and Makwarela, A.M. 2000.
Oxalidaceae. In: Seed Plants of
Southern Africa (ed. O.A. Leistner). Strelitzia 10: 432-433.
National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
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