2.5 meter Oxalis!

[johnw]

I was floored when the UBC Photo of the Day arrived this afternoon.  I hadn't an inkling there were such huge Oxalis out there.

http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/potd/2009/01/oxalis_gigantea.php

johnw

[Maggi Young]

Nor I!  And what a giant... a huge shrubby oxalis.... complete surprise to me!
 Rather handsome thing ...... wouldn't want it running through your glass house and beds though, would you? 

[Carlo]

looks as is it should be a spiny bugger too...

[Lvandelft]

Very surprising John. Never heard of such enormous Oxalis.

[johnw]

looks as is it should be a spiny bugger too...

Carlo - There is a link on the UBC link showing other pictures. I didn't see spines but one suspected it had them, I thought the minor branches were reminscent of Nothofagus antartica - maybe the wind sparks dormant buds to break along the stems().  The link shows the same nubby growths but also some wicked thorns.

johnw

[Anthony Darby]

I think the are giant lobelias that grow to 2 metres+ too.

[Michael]

Wow amazing!!! It's hard to believe that those Oxalis that usually annoy us while growing rampant in our flower pots are related to that thing!

Anthony, yes there are, and those come mountain tops too, but this time from africa.

[Maggi Young]

I think the are giant lobelias that grow to 2 metres+ too.

I think the giant lobelias  can get up to 20feet high... so that's over three metres ! BIG plants!

[Lesley Cox]

And we're worried about trifids? 

[gote]

No Lesly they are made harmless by being renamed to "ternates"

(Has really everybody read that book??)

In Mongolia there are gigantic Chenopodiaceae.

Göte