Diario de anthonywalton

Oxalis luteola [attached observation]

• Thicker and more stout conjunction of rootstock and basal leaf buds
• Underground tuber somewhat wedged under the packed stones in hard ground

• Pillose hairs on leaf underside, with scatterings on margin (UV diffusion from sunlight stones?)
  = Adapted for stability and midday sun exposure in shallow, stony soil. No abnormal length in flowering stem

Oxalis luteola [not posted]

• seen growing in marshier habitat, with seasonally waterlogged soil and amongst lush vegetation of uniform height
• No telling adaptation with conjunction of stem and leaf bases, no longer truly basal but held aloft with longer petioles
• No visible hairs on leaf underside

• No seeming difference with tuber orientation, but tubers slightly smaller?
  = Adapted to compete with densely growing, higher canopy vegetation for consistent pollinator attraction and associated dispersal - flowering stem >30cm long!

Q: What causes this plasticity in a single species? Moisture saturation of seedlings and length of said exposure? Light/shade differences in growing environment for newly sprouted seedling?
Q: How did this species or greater taxon (Oxalis) come to be so adaptable to very different growing conditions?
Perhaps other associated neo-endemic species with maximum genetic vitality displaying similar plasticity?