Oxalis violacea

L.

Violet Woodsorrel

G5Secure Found in 28 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.158359
Element CodePDOXA010W0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderGeraniales
FamilyOxalidaceae
GenusOxalis
Other Common Names
violet woodsorrel (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-07-03
Change Date1992-02-07
Edition Date2024-07-03
Edition AuthorsN. Ventrella (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Oxalis violacea is a perennial herb found in a variety of habitats including glades, rocky outcrops, bluffs, bottomlands, forests, woodlands, roadsides, old fields and disturbed sites of eastern North America from Vermont and Massachusetts west to North Dakota south to Florida and Texas in the United States, and it is also in Mexico. Threats include development, recreation, invasive species, succession, rights-of-way maintenance, and deer browse. With a large range extent, more than 5,000 occurrences, abundant habitat, broad habitat preferences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Oxalis violacea is native to eastern North America from Vermont and Massachusetts west to North Dakota south to Florida and Texas in the United States, and it also occurs in Mexico (FNA 2016). Range extent was estimated to be over 5 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are over 5,000 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Oxalis violacea is threatened by development, recreation, invasive species, succession, rights-of-way maintenance, deer browse, and other threats in some places (NatureServe 2024); though there is insufficient data, including anecdotal accounts, to understand the scope and severity of threats for this species.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Oxalis violacea occurs in "sandy soils, gravelly soils, prairies, limestone glades, hills of granite, limestone, and rocky-clay, rock outcrops, bluffs, bottomland, oak-pine/heath, oak-hickory, live oak, or juniper woodlands, cutover pine forests, roadsides, disturbed sites, [and] abandoned fields" (FNA 2016).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest EdgeGrassland/herbaceousOld fieldBare rock/talus/scree
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
IllinoisSNRYes
South CarolinaS5Yes
South DakotaSNRYes
North CarolinaS4Yes
NebraskaSNRYes
Rhode IslandS1Yes
ArkansasSNRYes
MichiganSXYes
MarylandSNRYes
VirginiaS5Yes
OregonSNANo
North DakotaSNRYes
MassachusettsS1Yes
KansasS5Yes
IndianaSNRYes
TexasSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
New YorkS2Yes
WisconsinSNRYes
DelawareS4Yes
OhioSNRYes
KentuckyS5Yes
New JerseyS4Yes
OklahomaSNRYes
TennesseeSNRYes
West VirginiaS5Yes
FloridaSNRYes
MissouriSNRYes
LouisianaSNRYes
IowaS4Yes
MississippiSNRYes
District of ColumbiaSNRYes
AlabamaSNRYes
GeorgiaS4Yes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
ConnecticutS3Yes
Threat Assessments

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (28)
Alabama (3)
AreaForestAcres
Cheaha BTalladega National Forest741
Oakey MountainTalladega National Forest6,129
Reed BrakeTalladega National Forest621
Arkansas (9)
AreaForestAcres
Bear MountainOuachita National Forest1,910
Blue MountainOuachita National Forest9,755
Brush HeapOuachita National Forest4,205
Dismal CreekOzark-St. Francis National Forest9,160
East ForkOzark-St. Francis National Forest13,037
Gee CreekOzark-St. Francis National Forest7,957
Indian CreekOzark-St. Francis National Forest7,855
Little BlakelyOuachita National Forest3,342
Pedestal RocksOzark-St. Francis National Forest21,957
Kentucky (1)
AreaForestAcres
WolfpenDaniel Boone National Forest2,835
Missouri (1)
AreaForestAcres
Big Creek Rare II Study AreaMark Twain National Forest9,277
New Mexico (1)
AreaForestAcres
South Guadalupe MountainsLincoln National Forest20,930
North Dakota (1)
AreaForestAcres
DurlerDakota Prairie Grasslands12,464
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Sampson Mountain AdditionCherokee National Forest3,064
Texas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Little Lake CreekNational Forests in Texas596
Virginia (8)
AreaForestAcres
Beards MountainGeorge Washington National Forest7,505
Brush MountainJefferson National Forest6,002
Brush Mountain EastJefferson National Forest4,916
North MountainJefferson National Forest8,377
Northern MassanuttenGeorge Washington National Forest9,444
Shawvers Run AdditionJefferson National Forest1,927
Southern MassanuttenGeorge Washington National Forest11,985
Three SistersGeorge Washington National Forest8,149
West Virginia (2)
AreaForestAcres
Middle MountainMonongahela National Forest19,020
North Mountain HopevilleMonongahela National Forest6,525
References (6)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2016. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 12. Magnoliophyta: Vitaceae to Garryaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 603 pp.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
  3. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  4. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  5. NatureServe. 2024. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  6. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2024. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2024).