The Oxalidaceae, or wood sorrel family, are a small family of eight genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs and small trees, with the great majority of the 900 species in the genus Oxalis (wood sorrels). Members of this family typically have divided leaves, the leaflets showing "sleep movements", spreading open in light and closing in darkness.
The genus Averrhoa of which starfruit is a member, is often included in this family, but some botanists put it in a separate family Averrhoaceae.
Media related to Oxalidaceae at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Oxalidaceae at Wikispecies
Oxalis (pron.: /ˈɒksəlɨs/) is by far the largest genus in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae: of the approximately 900 known species in the Oxalidaceae, 800 belong here. The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species diversity is particularly rich in tropical Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.
Many of the species are known as wood sorrels (sometimes written "woodsorrels" or "wood-sorrels") as they have an acidic taste reminiscent of the unrelated sorrel proper (Rumex acetosa). Some species are called yellow sorrels or pink sorrels after the color of their flowers instead. Other species are colloquially known as false shamrocks, and some called sourgrasses. For the genus as a whole, the term oxalises is also used.