Oxalis triangularis 'Mijke'

About this gift

The Oxalis triangularis 'Mijke' is a compact selection of the purple false shamrock, prized for its exceptionally dark, almost black-purple leaflets. Each leaf is made of three triangular leaflets in the deepest plum, so saturated they read as near-black in low light, and they fold shut like little butterflies at dusk before opening again with the morning. Delicate sprays of pale pink flowers hover above the foliage through summer, glowing against that inky backdrop. It is one of the moodiest, most beautiful little tubers you can grow in a gritty pot or at the front of a warm border.

Wonderfully versatile, it sits right on the border between houseplant and garden plant, so grow it whichever way suits your space. It loves bright light: give it the high light of a conservatory, greenhouse or a sunny windowsill indoors, or a bright, sheltered spot outdoors through the warmer months, and that near-black colour only deepens. It is also refreshingly low effort. Frost tender and winter dormant, it simply rests below ground through the cold and bounces back each spring, so there is nothing to fuss over in the off season.

Native to Brazil, it grows from small tubers and rhizomes.