Common name:
Creeping woodsorrel
Family:
Scientific name:
Oxalis corniculata
Main flower color:
Range:
Mostly in the Pacific states, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, plus small areas of all other states (adventive)
Height:
A few inches; spreads along the ground
Habitat:
Varied; fields, roadsides, woodland, waste ground
Leaves:
Alternate, divided into three heart-shaped leaflets, each about half an inch across; on stalks of up to 3 inches
Season:
March to September
Stems of oxalis corniculata are weak and slender, and the clover-like leaves are thin, giving the whole plant a rather delicate appearance. Stems overlap and the foliage is quite dense, though this is a low-growing species, forming spreading clumps; stems take root from the leaf axils. Leaves are palmately divided into 3 non-overlapping (but almost touching) leaflets, each with a vein down the middle and a notch at the tip; they may be slightly folded up along the vein. The leaves are edible. Stems and leaves have a light hair covering.
Flowers are produced sparingly, also from the leaf nodes, but appear over a long period of time; most of the year in some locations. They have five yellow petals, narrow at the base, about a third of an inch long, and a cluster of ten short, yellow-tipped stamens at the center. Petal tips have a few indentations.
Flowers are produced sparingly, also from the leaf nodes, but appear over a long period of time; most of the year in some locations. They have five yellow petals, narrow at the base, about a third of an inch long, and a cluster of ten short, yellow-tipped stamens at the center. Petal tips have a few indentations.
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